New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art plans to return $550,000 in donations it received from collapsed crypto exchange FTX.
The museum confirmed its intention to repay FTX in a motion published on June 2 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
“The Met wishes to return the Donations to the FTX Debtors, and the FTX Debtors and the Met have engaged in good faith, arm’s length negotiations concerning the return of the Donations,” said the counsel for the debtors and debtors-in-possession in the filing.
FTX donated $300,000 to the Met in March of last year followed by an additional $250,000 in May. That same month FTX’s head of global fashion and luxury partnerships Lauren Remington Platt attended the famous Met Gala wearing a custom FTX necklace. The necklace was later auctioned off at the Amfar Gala in Cannes and bought for $133,827, according to Vogue.
The donations to Met were made under West Realm Shires Services, which is the subsidiary that ran FTX.US.
The move comes as FTX seeks to retrieve donations that were made to politicians and nonprofit organizations. FTX’s founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was well-known for his philanthropic efforts where he promised millions to various nonprofits. He is estimated to have spent $93 million on political donations, according to court filings.
FTX’s new management is now trying to claw back these donations to help repay creditors who are impacted by the exchange’s collapse.
The court will still need to approve this motion. The general counsel for the debtors said: “The terms of the proposed stipulation fall well within the range of reasonableness and should be approved by the court.”
“The stipulation provides the Debtors’ estates and their stakeholders with a recovery of 100% of the donations, without litigation and the significant costs attendant thereto,” they added.
A hearing on the motion will take place on June 28.
