Zohran Mamdani, the Democrat nominee for New York City mayor, reportedly faces two criminal referrals accusing his campaign of accepting illegal contributions from foreign donors.
The referrals were filed by the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, claiming Mamdani might have violated the Federal Election Campaign Act and New York Election Code.
The foundation filed the referrals with the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office Tuesday.
Mamdani’s campaign brought in nearly $13,000 from nearly 170 donors whose addresses were outside the United States, the New York Post reported. Donors included his mother-in-law in Dubai, the Post said.
“These are not isolated incidents or clerical errors,” Dan Backer, a national campaign finance expert and president of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, said in a statement.
“This was a sustained pattern of foreign money flowing into a New York City mayoral race which is a clear violation of both federal law and New York City campaign finance rules,” Backer continued.
“Mamdani’s campaign was on notice for months that it was accepting illegal foreign contributions, and yet it did nothing meaningful to stop it.”
Federal law prohibits campaigns from accepting money from foreign nationals.
“Mamdani’s campaign repeatedly accepted donations from individuals abroad, some even tied to regions and individuals openly sympathetic to hostile actors,” Backer said. “Whether through negligence or intent, this conduct undermines the integrity of the democratic process.”
Mamdani’s campaign returned some of the funds, but the Post reported that at least 88 donations totaling $7,190 have not been returned.
Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for the Mamdani campaign said some of the donations might have come from Americans living overseas.
“All US citizens and permanent residents, including those who live outside the U.S., are legally permitted to donate to New York City mayoral campaigns under federal campaign finance law and New York State and City law,” Pekec said in a statement.
“The Campaign has a rigorous compliance process in place to ensure compliance with these laws, including a protocol to confirm whether donors with foreign addresses are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents,” Pekec continued.
“The Campaign will promptly issue refunds for any donations that are found to be impermissible.”
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