U.S. President Donald Trump has explained his decision to pardon Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, saying the move came after strong lobbying and widespread support from people who insisted that Zhao had done nothing wrong.
Trump officially signed the pardon on Wednesday, a decision later confirmed by Binance.
Speaking at a Thursday press conference, Trump said, “He came highly recommended by many people. I’ve been told he had a lot of support and that what he did wasn’t even a crime. I don’t know him personally, but they said he was unfairly targeted by the Biden administration.”
Scrutiny on the previous administration’s actions
Zhao had previously received a four-month prison sentence after admitting to a single violation of the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act for not maintaining an effective anti–money laundering program at Binance.
His attorney, Teresa Goody Guillén, welcomed the pardon, saying it corrected an excessive punishment. “CZ faced one count — failure to have an effective compliance program. No fraud, no victims, no money laundering, and no criminal history,” she stated.
She added that Zhao was “the first and only first-time offender in U.S. history to receive a prison term for such a non-fraud charge,” emphasizing that the court found no evidence he was aware of any illicit transactions.
CZ looks ahead after pardon
After the announcement, CZ expressed gratitude on X (formerly Twitter), writing that he was “deeply thankful” and eager to contribute again: “We’ll do everything possible to help make America the global capital of crypto and drive Web3 innovation forward.”
Under his plea deal, Zhao had stepped down as Binance CEO and was barred from returning to the company. The presidential pardon now clears the way for him to potentially take back an active role at the exchange.
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