Nonprofit investigative news outlet ProPublica will return about $1.6 million in funding provided by Building a Stronger Future, the foundation associated with Sam Bankman-Fried following his arrest in the Bahamas, Axios reports.

Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency company FTX, was arrested last week on various charges, including wire fraud and multiple conspiracy charges relating to fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance violations. 

ProPublica President and co-CEO Robin Sparkman and Editor-in-Chief and co-CEO Stephen Engelberg informed the staff in a statement that, with support from the board, the company will return the funds it received from Bankman-Fried's family foundation Building a Stronger Future, saying, "It does not seem appropriate to keep these funds."

They added that the money will be moved into its own account until “a bankruptcy judge or other legal authority [decides] where the money should be returned.”

A spokesperson told Axios that ProPublica has informed James L. Bromley, the bankruptcy counsel for FTX, of the decision.

Axios notes that ProPublica had an agreement with Building a Stronger Future to receive $5 million in funding over the course of three years, of which $1.6 million has been supplied. This agreement has been canceled following ProPublica’s decision to cut ties with the foundation.

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