Records responsive to Mithril Capital were recently provided to Expanding Frontiers Research by the FBI. The Peter Thiel venture capital fund became the subject of FBI and SEC investigations as explored in a previous EFR blogpost. SEC issued a letter of “no enforcement action” and the controversial Thiel reportedly became a Bureau informant, though the incidents are not necessarily directly related.
FBI initially advised EFR of the existence of over 500 records responsive to its FOIA request. EFR substantially reduced the scope of the request to the first few dozen pages in the interest of conserving expenses while effectively obtaining a comparatively expedited preview. Hundreds more responsive pages apparently remain unprocessed.
As explained by FBI in its response letter uploaded at the end of this post, 38 pages of records were reviewed and 28 were released. The released records include reference to potential "fraud against Mithril's investors," as well as email exchanges indicating efforts to find “someone who would be willing and able to help the FBI,” as shown in the following image:
FBI apparently opened an investigation into Mithril in 2019, amid concerns of fraud. As described in the memo below, the firm had raised approximately $1.3 billion, the fate of which was in question due to allegations an upper management figure fired qualified personnel and allotted “millions in management fees for himself”:
An email sent from an undisclosed party to the San Francisco FBI office outlines the activity of various personnel and describes the firm's “Operation Tempo” as “non-stop.” Following some redacted statements, the writer of the email observes that something, “Doesn't make sense, but whatever,” before adding, “I wish I could offer more information.” The email:
Other pages of the records obtained indicate multiple interviews were conducted and substantial FBI resources were “expended to resolve the case.” The investigation was apparently closed in 2023, however the Bureau may have chosen to consider that resolution achieved.
Correspondence and records received from FBI concerning Mithril Capital are uploaded below. The responsive records are contained in the files titled Mithril FBI 4 and Mithril FBI 5:
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