Mamdani Referred to DOJ Over Alleged Foreign Donations

With one week to go before New York City's mayoral election, the Coolidge Reagan Foundation filed two criminal referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg alleging Zohran Mamdani’s campaign accepted nearly $13,000 from roughly 170 donors with addresses outside the United States, including donations linked to Dubai (reports name a mother‑in‑law and a Dubai‑based investor). The filings ask prosecutors to probe potential violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act and New York Election Law, calling the inflows a “sustained pattern” that could warrant fines or criminal charges. Mamdani’s campaign says 31 donors have been proven U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and that questionable donations have been refunded—about $4,000 during Sept. 8–Oct. 20 and roughly $9,000 returned in total—but some small foreign‑address contributions remain pending. The New York City Campaign Finance Board said such donations should not have been processed and indicated the city’s portal may have systemic issues that allowed them. The watchdog urged immediate investigations and said the campaign had been on notice for months.