An examination of New York City Campaign Finance Board records revealed that mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s campaign accepted thousands of dollars in foreign donations, a violation of the city’s finance laws that could result in fines or imprisonment.

The law states that political campaigns or political action committees can only accept donations from U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents.

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After the review of the board’s records, Mamdani’s campaign said it would return the money. However, records show that $7,190 of the original $13,000 has yet to be returned. Mamdani’s team has refused to address why the money is still in the campaign’s account, and has also remained silent on whether it knew the money came from foreign sources before accepting it.

Mamdani’s campaign did not reply to the Washington Examiner‘s request for clarification on the status of the foreign donations or whether it knowingly accepted them. It also declined to comment on the New York Post‘s questioning on why some foreign donations are still with the campaign.

There is no direct evidence that the campaign knew the donations came from supporters based outside the United States. However, there is compelling evidence.

For instance, the campaign’s silence on the matter has triggered concerns. Additionally, donors are required to provide their home address when making contributions.

Furthermore, one of the foreign contributors was Mamdani’s mother-in-law, who lives in Dubai. The chances that Mamdani or his campaign did not know that his mother-in-law sent in a contribution seem odd.

Moreover, the bulk of the foreign donations came to Mamdani’s campaign before his primary in June. His campaign acknowledged that the donations were in violation of campaign finance laws, but only after the offense was revealed last week.

Combined with the campaign’s delayed acknowledgment of the violations, the lengthy period it took to process, store, and possibly spend the donations provided ample opportunity to recognize that the funds came from foreign sources and are illegal.

When most of the foreign money entered the campaign, Mamdani was locked in a tough fight against incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

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Campaign filings indicate that the majority of the $10 million that Mamdani’s team has spent so far went out in the weeks leading up to the primary, suggesting that the foreign funds may have played a critical role in supporting his campaign.

The uncertainty surrounding the campaign’s use and acknowledgment of these foreign contributions provides ample grounds for the New York City Campaign Finance Board to launch an investigation into Mamdani’s operation.