Stanford University Will Return ‘Gifts’ Donated by FTX: Report

Stanford University will be returning “gifts,” purportedly worth millions of dollars, it received from FTX, allegedly orchestrated by Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents, according to a Bloomberg report.

Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried are professors at Stanford Law School. On Monday, the FTX Group sued Bankman and Fried for misappropriating millions, including $5.5 million in donations to Stanford University.

“We have been in discussions with attorneys for the FTX debtors to recover these gifts and we will be returning the funds in their entirety,” a Stanford University spokesperson said, according to Bloomberg. “Stanford received gifts from the FTX Foundation and FTX-related companies largely for pandemic-related prevention and research.”

The parents have denied all the allegations calling them “completely false.” Their son, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of the bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, is preparing for a trial next month from behind bars.

“This is a dangerous attempt to intimidate Joe and Barbara and undermine the jury process just days before their child’s trial begins,” attorneys for the parents said in a joint statement to CoinDesk after FTX sued them.

Stanford University and representatives of Joshua Bankman and Barbara Fried didn’t respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment about Stanford’s reported decision sent after business hours in the U.S.