US President Donald Trump Pardons Binance Founder «CZ»
In a move that has triggered scrutiny, US President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng «CZ» Zhao who was previously convicted for anti-money laundering failures.
US President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, also known as «CZ», according to a statement by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt who called the China-born Canadian citizen’s prosecution a «war on cryptocurrency» by the Joe Biden administration.
In 2023, US authorities said that Binance failed to report suspicious transactions with organizations including Hamas, al Qaeda and websites dedicated to selling child sexual abuse materials. Zhao, who pleaded guilty at the time, was sentenced to four months in jail and fined $50 million, alongside a $4.3 billion penalty against Binance.
«[I am] deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice,» Zhao said on a social media post on X regarding the White House’s latest move. «Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto.»
MGX Deal
The move to pardon Zhao has triggered scrutiny due to dealings between Binance and Trump’s crypto venture World Liberty. In May, Binance accepted World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin as payment for a $2 billion investment by Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX.
The White House has denied claims related to conflicts of interest and on Thursday, Leavitt added that all pardons had been carefully examined.
