The Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City, the communist Zohran Mamdani, has received nearly $13,000 in donations from foreign sources, a fact that could violate campaign finance laws.
A report from the New York Post reveals that at least 170 of the approximately 54,000 contributions to Mamdani's campaign came from donors outside the United States. So far, the Muslim candidate's campaign team has returned $5,600 of that foreign funding, but has not yet returned 88 of the identified donations.
Federal, state, and municipal laws prescribe that candidates must return any illegal donation coming from abroad. Accepting such contributions can result in fines and imprisonment, since only U.S. citizens and permanent residents can contribute to political campaigns or political action committees.
Mamdani financió su campaña con donaciones ilegales del extranjero: piden que la Justicia lo investigue
Mamdani became wealthy thanks to foreign money
One month before the New York elections, Mamdani currently has around $6.1 million in his account to spend, having raised $4 million in private donations. Reportedly, donations from abroad to the socialist's campaign increased before the June Democratic primaries.
Election records also revealed that the majority of contributions to Mamdani's campaign have come from outside New York City. In recent weeks, his political venture raised more than $1 million, doubling the $507,000 of his opponent, fellow Democrat Andrew Cuomo, during the same period.
The Republican candidate for mayor, Curtis Sliwa, echoed this investigation by saying that "where there's smoke, there's fire, so I'd be very concerned," suggesting that there could be more undisclosed foreign funding. Sliwa has even called for Trump's Department of Justice to track these contributions.
Mamdani financió su campaña con donaciones ilegales del extranjero: piden que la Justicia lo investigue
"It's very problematic, not only for Zohran Mamdani, but for anyone who has this type of political committee, because it's a license to channel money illegally," Sliwa told the Post. "Foreign countries know you don't have to go to war against the United States. All you have to do is manipulate its elections," he asserted.
