Changpeng Zhao. Photo courtesy of the press service of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic.
In April of last year, Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, was sentenced to four months in prison for money laundering, but he has now been pardoned by Donald Trump. This was reported by the "Russian Service of the BBC".
According to the White House, Trump used his constitutional powers to pardon Zhao, who became the target of persecution by the Biden administration as part of its anti-cryptocurrency policy.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt noted that Biden's actions undermined the reputation of the U.S. as a leader in technology and innovation, and the war on cryptocurrencies is over.
Zhao's sentence was handed down for violating anti-money laundering laws, with prosecutors insisting on a three-year term, claiming that his actions threatened the national security of the country.
In November 2023, Zhao stepped down as head of Binance and agreed to pay a $50 million fine.
The U.S. Department of Justice fined the exchange a record $4.3 billion, accusing it of being a "colossal center for money laundering," where billions of dollars in illegal funds were processed.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Zhao's pardon may open doors for Binance in the American market, as the company lost its license after admitting to violating anti-money laundering laws in 2023.
Zhao's conviction also created obstacles for Binance's business in other countries, complicating the process of obtaining licenses and opening bank accounts.
The company had been seeking a pardon for Zhao for nearly a year, and he was released from prison in September 2024. Binance hired lobbyist Ches McDowell to expedite this process.
Since Trump's election, Binance has become an important partner of his family's cryptocurrency project - World Liberty Financial, significantly increasing the president's personal wealth.
Last year, Binance offered Trump's allies a business deal with his family to return to the American market, and representatives of the Trump family were negotiating financial participation in Binance's American division.
Zhao claimed that he did not negotiate with Binance.US, but wrote on the social network X: "No convicted person would oppose a pardon."
As noted by the WSJ, World Liberty has brought significantly more income to the Trump family over the past year than their real estate business.
Binance also contributed to the growth of the dollar-pegged cryptocurrency USD1, issued by World Liberty, providing the project with significant investments and facilitating the trading of tokens.
World Liberty claims that Zhao is friends with Zach Whitcoff, a co-founder of the company and son of Trump's special envoy, but no deals with Binance were made.
Changpeng Zhao founded Binance in 2017 and turned it into the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, with a user base of approximately 300 million.
Zhao became one of many crypto entrepreneurs pardoned by Trump. In March, the president also pardoned BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, who pleaded guilty to similar crimes.
However, such a decision may provoke criticism from Democrats in Congress, who previously demanded disclosure of information regarding Trump's connections with Binance and Zhao, pointing to potential ethical issues.
Incidentally, in May of this year, Sadyr Japarov presented Changpeng Zhao with a certificate as a public advisor to the President of the Kyrgyz Republic on digital assets.
