The left-wing jihadist Zohran Mamdani is under investigation for illegal foreign funding.

The socialist candidate for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, faces a political and legal storm less than a month before the election. On Tuesday, the watchdog group "Coolidge Reagan Foundation" filed two criminal complaints against his campaign, accusing it of accepting illegal contributions from foreign donors, in violation of the "Federal Election Campaign Act" and the New York Election Code. The complaints were referred to both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, led by Alvin Bragg.

According to the file, Mamdani's campaign allegedly received nearly $13,000 in contributions from at least 170 donors with addresses outside the United States, including his mother-in-law in Dubai.

Federal law strictly prohibits foreign citizens from participating in any U.S. election, whether federal, state, or local. If the accusations are confirmed, the case could result in severe fines and even prison sentences.

"These are not isolated incidents or simple administrative errors," stated Dan Backer, an expert in political financing and president of the foundation filing the complaint.

"This is a sustained pattern of foreign money flowing into a municipal campaign, something that clearly violates both federal and local laws." Backer added that Mamdani's campaign "was warned for months" and that, despite this, "did nothing significant to stop it."

The Coolidge Reagan Foundation is no stranger to this type of complaint: in the past, it has filed complaints against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Its president argued that Mamdani's case represents "a systematic failure to comply with campaign finance laws."

Backer went further by warning about the seriousness of the matter: "The law is crystal clear: foreigners can't participate in U.S. elections, either directly or indirectly. However, Mamdani's campaign repeatedly accepted donations from individuals abroad, some even with ties to regions and people openly hostile to U.S. interests. Whether through negligence or intent, this behavior undermines the integrity of the democratic process."

Although the campaign has returned some of the money, at least 88 contributions, totaling $7,190, have yet to be refunded, according to public records.

So far, Mamdani has raised around $4 million in private donations and has received $12.7 million in public matching funds through the municipal financing program, making his candidacy one of the most benefited by the system that aims to reduce the influence of money in politics. Paradoxically, the current scandal calls into question precisely the transparency that Mamdani promises to defend.

The campaign has about $6.1 million in cash on hand, but now faces growing media and legal pressure. The accusations have struck at the politician's narrative, who presents himself as an "anti-corruption" and "progressive change" figure.

Critics point out that the lack of control over donations reflects an alarming hypocrisy within a movement that often denounces the influence of money in politics, but in practice may have allowed the entry of prohibited funds.

The campaign spokesperson, Dora Pekec, tried to downplay the scandal by assuring that some of the donors with foreign addresses could be U.S. citizens or permanent residents living outside the country. "We have a rigorous protocol to confirm the legal status of donors and will issue refunds if it is determined that any contribution is impermissible."

However, campaign finance experts question that defense, noting that the pattern of foreign donations persisted for months without substantive corrections. "This is not an isolated error, but rather a deficient or nonexistent verification system," stated an analyst from the Center for Responsive Politics.