Watchdog files federal, state complaints accusing Mamdani campaign of taking foreign donations

The Coolidge Reagan Foundation, a campaign finance watchdog, filed two criminal referrals against New York City mayoral frontrunner and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, accusing the left-wing candidate of accepting illegal foreign donations.

The foundation submitted the complaints on Tuesday to the U.S. Department of Justice and to the Manhattan district attorney, alleging violations of federal and state election laws.

“Mamdani’s campaign accepted at least 161 contributions from foreign sources between December 2024 and September 2025, totaling more than $12,000,” the foundation stated. “The contributions came from individuals listing addresses in Dubai, Australia, Turkey, France, Canada, Germany and other countries, with the majority providing no verifiable employment information.”

“These are not isolated incidents or clerical errors,” stated Dan Backer, the foundation’s president. “This was a sustained pattern of foreign money flowing into a New York City mayoral race, a clear violation of both federal and city campaign finance rules.”

“Mamdani’s campaign was on notice for months that it was accepting illegal foreign contributions, and yet it did nothing meaningful to stop it,” Backer said. He added that some of the foreign funding sources are “even tied to regions and individuals openly sympathetic to hostile actors.”

Fox News reported that one of the donations, for $500, came from Mamdani’s mother-in-law in Dubai and that the campaign returned it four days later.

“The campaign will promptly issue refunds for any donations that are found to be impermissible,” a campaign spokeswoman told the station.

© JNS