Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao: White House

Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao: White House

US President Donald Trump has pardoned convicted founder of crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge in 2023, the White House said on Thursday.

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."

She argued that former President Joe Biden-led administration's sentencing was too harsh.

Following this, Zhao said in a post on 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."

Zhao stepped down as CEO of Binance, the crypto exchange he founded in 2017, and agreed to pay $200 million in fines.

According to a report by Reuters, 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 $4.3 billion. Trump's crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, is hosted on Binance.

Zhao was sentenced to four months in jail in May 2024.

In 2024, Trump received support from the crypto sector for his second term as President by promising to reverse the policies of Joe Biden.

In March, Trump also pardoned the three co-founders of crypto exchange BitMEX, opens new tab who had pleaded guilty in 2022 for failing to implement a Bank Secrecy Act-compliant anti-money laundering programme.

He has also pardoned the founder of electric truck company Nikola, who was convicted of fraud, and commuted the sentence of the executive of the now-defunct start-up Ozy Media.

Source: News18
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