Trump pardons Canadian crypto billionaire serving money laundering sentence
Global News
United States President Donald Trump has pardoned cryptocurrency billionaire Changpeng Zhao, who also founded Binance, after he plead guilty to money laundering charges.
U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the giant Binance cryptocurrency exchange, a White House official said on Thursday, the latest in a series of shows of clemency for crypto executives and other criminals.
In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had “exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency.”
Zhao said in a post on social media platform X that he was “Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice.” He added: “Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto.”
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volumes, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zhao, a billionaire who is one of the most influential figures in the crypto sector, in 2023 stepped down as chief of Binance after the company pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and paid a penalty of US$4.3 billion.
Zhao, a citizen of Canada who was born in China, personally paid a fine of $50 million and served nearly four months in prison last year after pleading guilty to the same charge. However, he kept his Binance stake, with one of his appointees becoming chief executive of the company.
The U.S. Constitution gives the president broad power to issue pardons to wipe away federal criminal convictions, or commutations to modify sentences. Historically, presidents have largely waited until the end of their terms to use such powers, but there is no requirement that they do so.
Zhao told a podcaster in May that he had applied for a pardon from the Trump administration, adding that he had never spoken to the president.
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