With just a week remaining before Election Day in New York City, the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, a campaign finance oversight group, filed two criminal referrals on Tuesday against Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral candidate. They allege he received unlawful contributions from foreign sources. However, Mamdani’s team insists that any financial discrepancies have been addressed.

Earlier this month, an examination of financial records revealed that Mamdani’s campaign accepted nearly $13,000 from over 170 donors located outside the U.S. This raised concerns about compliance with campaign finance laws, which only allow donations from U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.

“These instances are neither isolated nor mere clerical errors,” remarked Dan Backer, a noted expert in campaign finance and president of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, to Fox News Digital. “There was a consistent influx of foreign money into a New York City mayoral race, blatantly contravening both federal and city campaign finance regulations. Mamdani’s team was aware for months that it was receiving illegal foreign contributions, yet failed to take substantial corrective action.”

In response, Mamdani’s campaign clarified that “31 out of the 170 donors have verified their citizenship or legal permanent residency, and their contributions have been approved by the Campaign Finance Board. The donations from the remaining 139 have been refunded.”

The Coolidge Reagan Foundation forwarded the criminal referrals to Matthew R. Galeotti, Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, and Alvin Bragg, Manhattan District Attorney, on Tuesday morning. They cited potential breaches of the Federal Election Campaign Act, which prohibits accepting contributions from foreign nationals in any election at the federal, state, or local level.

While foreign nationals are not permitted to donate to American political candidates under campaign finance law, US citizens and lawful permanent residents living abroad can legally contribute to US campaigns, which means that not all of Mamdani’s donations from addresses outside the US are necessarily from foreign nationals, a state campaign finance official indicated. 

“The law is crystal clear that foreign nationals may not participate in American elections, and that includes making contributions. Yet Mamdani’s campaign repeatedly accepted donations from individuals abroad,” Backer added, arguing that “whether through negligence or intent, this conduct undermines the integrity of the democratic process.”

The DOJ referral calls for a criminal investigation “into potential FECA violations,” while the Manhattan referral cites “possible violations of New York Election Law § 17.152, which makes it a misdemeanor for two or more persons to conspire to promote an election by unlawful means.”

“Foreign money in American elections is not just a technical violation, it is a threat to self-government,” CRF Chairman Shaun McCutcheon said. “Every dollar illegally funneled into a campaign from abroad dilutes the voice of lawful American voters. This case must be investigated immediately, and those responsible held accountable.”

According to a Fox News Digital review of New York City Campaign Finance Board filings, Mamdani’s campaign collected roughly $13,000 from donors listing foreign addresses, including one $500 donation in January from his mother-in-law in Dubai, which was refunded four days later.

As of Oct. 14, filings revealed 91 of the foreign donations had been refunded, totaling $5,723.50.

The New York Post was the first to report on the out-of-town donations. The Mamdani campaign told the outlet last month that “we will of course return any donations that are not in compliance with CFB law.”

But CRF argued that “returning questionable donations doesn’t cure the violation.”

“CRF respectfully urges you to investigate and prosecute Mamdani’s apparent acceptance of illegal contributions from foreign nationals for his mayoral campaign,” Backer wrote in the criminal referrals.

While acknowledging that some of the donations from outside the country could be from “US citizens living abroad who are legally entitled to contribute,” Backer argued that “the totality of the circumstances suggests a reasonable likelihood a substantial number of these contributions are illegal.”

“Despite being well aware of this influx of illegal foreign contributions, it appears he did nothing throughout most of 2025 to prevent his campaign from accepting them in the first place,” Backer charged.

“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,” Mamdani campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec told Fox News Digital when reached for comment. 

“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 US citizens or lawful permanent residents. The Campaign will promptly issue refunds for any donations that are found to be impermissible,” Pekec added.