Zohran Mamdani's Campaign Under Investigation for $13,000 in Illegal Foreign Donations

Zohran Mamdani's campaign reportedly received nearly $13,000 (approximately Rs 11 lakh) from foreign sources, despite US election law explicitly prohibiting candidates from accepting campaign funds from non-US citizens or residents.

According to NYC Campaign Finance Board records, Mamdani's campaign collected around 54,000 individual contributions. The NY Post reports that approximately 170 of these donations originated from individuals residing outside the United States.

Among these foreign contributions, records indicate that Ada Diaz Ahmed, an investor based in Dubai, contributed $2,100 (approximately Rs 1.74 lakh) to Mamdani's campaign in September. This included a contribution from his mother-in-law in Dubai.

Of particular concern is that Mamdani's campaign has not returned 88 foreign donations, which collectively amount to $7,190 (approximately Rs 6 lakh). When presented with evidence of these questionable contributions, Mamdani's campaign released a statement on Saturday affirming, "We will, of course, return any donations that are not in compliance with CFB law."

Overall, Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign has been remarkably successful in fundraising, securing Rs 33.2 crore from private donations plus an additional Rs 105.4 crore in public matching funds, according to official campaign records.

Despite substantial expenditures on advertising, events, and staff salaries, the campaign reportedly maintains approximately Rs 50.6 crore in reserves, based on local media reporting.

The amount raised by Mamdani's campaign is notably more than double what former Governor Andrew Cuomo collected (Rs 4.21 crore) during the same timeframe.

Curtis Sliwa, the Republican mayoral candidate, expressed concerns regarding the foreign donations to Mamdani's campaign, stating, "Where there's smoke, there's fire, so I would be very concerned. There is probably a lot more in terms of foreign money."

Sliwa further commented, "It's very problematic, not just for Zohran Mamdani, but anybody who has these kinds of PACs, because it's a license to illegally funnel money."

Two months prior, Sliwa appeared on Fox Business calling for a US Department of Justice investigation. He suggested that Mamdani might be receiving assistance from "dark money" potentially flowing illegally from foreign nationals into super PACs supporting his campaign.

Marquardt, a US citizen working as a consultant in Hamburg, Germany, offered a different perspective, noting, "It's the only campaign I've seen that's not trying to win by convincing a group of people to hate another group of people."