New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani faces two criminal referrals filed Tuesday by a campaign finance watchdog alleging he accepted illegal donations from foreign contributors.The Coolidge Reagan Foundation submitted the referrals to the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, accusing Mamdani of potential violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act and the New York Election Code.
The filings follow a report earlier this month by The New York Post that Mamdani’s campaign had collected nearly $13,000 from at least 170 donors with addresses outside the United States, including one contribution from his mother-in-law in Dubai.
“These are not isolated incidents or clerical errors,” Dan Backer, a national campaign finance expert and president of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, told The Post 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 noted further, per the outlet.
“Mamdani’s campaign was on notice for months that it was accepting illegal foreign contributions, and yet it did nothing meaningful to stop it.”
The group said the donations originated from countries including Australia, Turkey, France, Canada, and Germany, among others, The Post said.
The organization alleged that Mamdani’s campaign showed a “systematic failure to comply” with campaign finance regulations.
Under the Federal Election Campaign Act, it is illegal to “accept or receive” contributions from foreign nationals in any federal, state, or local election. Individuals who knowingly accept such donations may face substantial fines and potential imprisonment.
“The law is crystal clear that foreign nationals may not participate in American elections, and that includes making contributions,” Backer’s statement to The Post continued. “Yet Mamdani’s campaign repeatedly accepted donations from individuals abroad, some even tied to regions and individuals openly sympathetic to hostile actors.”
“Whether through negligence or intent, this conduct undermines the integrity of the democratic process.”
While the Mamdani campaign appears to have refunded some foreign contributions, records indicate that at least 88 donations totaling $7,190 have not been returned. The campaign has raised approximately $4 million in private contributions and received an additional $12.7 million in public matching funds.
With less than a month remaining before Election Day, Mamdani’s campaign reports having about $6.1 million in cash on hand.
Campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec said some of the disputed donations may have come from American citizens residing overseas, The Post reported.
“All US citizens and permanent residents, including those who live outside the US, are legally permitted to donate to New York City mayoral campaigns under federal campaign finance law and New York State and City law,” Pekec told Fox News Digital.
“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 added. “The Campaign will promptly issue refunds for any donations that are found to be impermissible.”
Most polls show Mamdani, who is an avowed socialist who has consorted with terrorist suspects, comfortably ahead of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) last week blasted current New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul for endorsing Mamdani while accusing the mayoral candidate “of being a ‘jihadist’ for meeting with Siraj Wahhaj — an ‘unindicted co-conspirator’ in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing,” The Post reported separately.
