I think it's unlikely that #2 would have happened if EVF leadership hadn't known that #1 would also happen, as SBF had promised he'd make donations to MacAskill (according to the New Yorker article).
Financing a stately mansion is a lot less risky if you know your rich friend is going to recoup the cost.
On second thought, you're right. SBF was fine with using FTX money to buy beachfront mansions in the Bahamas, so it probably does fit with SBF's "philanthropic priorities". But then SBF is a conman, so I really don't think "It's what SBF would have wanted" is a very good justification for any of this!
And CEA/EVF wants to keep the money that was probably stolen from FTX customers because....why, exactly? What's the ethical justification here?
Effective Altruist Leaders Were Repeatedly Warned About Sam Bankman-Fried Years Before FTX Collapse
https://time.com/6262810/sam-bankman-fried-effective-altruism-alameda-ftx/
Caroline Ellison called herself "Fake Charity Nerd Girl" and openly talked about her risky overleveraging strategy on rationalist tumblr:
https://speakertoyesterday.tumblr.com/post/700814996538523648/worldoptimization-slatestarscratchpad-all#notes