U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he granted a pardon to Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao following extensive lobbying and support from numerous individuals who asserted his innocence. The pardon was officially signed on Wednesday, and Binance subsequently confirmed the presidential order to Cointelegraph.
During a press conference held on Thursday, Trump elaborated on his decision, explaining that he chose to pardon the Binance founder because he had received recommendations from "a lot of people," garnered significant support, and was informed that "people say that he wasn’t guilty of anything."
I don’t know him, I don’t believe I’ve ever met him, but I’ve been told he had a lot of support, and they said that what he did is not even a crime, it wasn’t a crime, he was persecuted by the Biden Administration.
Scrutiny of Past Administrations' Actions
Zhao had previously received a four-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to a single count of violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act. This charge stemmed from his failure to implement and maintain an effective anti–money laundering program at Binance.
Teresa Goody Guillén, CZ’s crypto attorney, commented on Thursday that the pardon was the correct course of action. She emphasized that her client faced "a single charge of failure to have an effective compliance program. NO fraud, NO victims, NO criminal history. NO money laundering.”
She further stated, "CZ is the first and only known first-time offender in U.S. history to receive a prison sentence for this single, non-fraud-related charge."
The judge found NO evidence that he knew of any illicit transactions and that it was reasonable for him to believe there were no illicit funds on the platform.
CZ Prepared to Resume Work
Following the announcement of the pardon, CZ took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). He expressed his "deep gratitude" and pledged to "do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto and advance Web3 worldwide."
As part of his plea agreement with the authorities, CZ was compelled to step down as CEO of Binance and was subsequently prohibited from working at the exchange. A presidential pardon potentially allows him to resume a role at Binance.