Posted on 10/23/2025 8:42:45 AM PDT by Red Badger
Key Points
President Donald Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao one week after he commuted the prison sentence of former New York congressman George Santos.
Zhao had pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the huge cryptocurrency exchange.
Zhao’s plea was part of a $4.3 billiion settlement Binance reached with the DOJ in 2023.
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President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who had previously pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering while heading the cryptocurrency exchange, the White House said Thursday.
“President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Zhao, in November 2023, pleaded guilty in the case and agreed to step down as Binance CEO as part of a $4.3 billion settlement by the company with the Department of Justice.
He was sentenced in April 2024 to just four months in jail.
Federal prosecutors had asked a judge to sentence Zhao to three years in prison.
Trump’s pardon of Zhao came nearly a week after he commuted the 87-month prison sentence of former New York Rep. George Santos, who had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
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CAN HE BE DEPORTED???
Changpeng Zhao, a Chinese born Canadian who also has a UAE passport. It really is “who you know”. The big money crowd really takes care of each other.
Meanwhile he hasn’t lifted a finger to rescue Tina Peters.
Unbelievable. Yet totally believable.
I bet he didn’t use “Trump coin” to screw people. He would serve every day of his sentence if he cost the Trump kids a nickel.
Not much he can do about Tina Peters, since she was convicted on State charges, which a President cannot pardon or commute. Only the Colorado Governor can....................
Harder to recue Peters because it was a State case, not federal.
Soon Barron Trump will be on the board of Binance
Can Trump help Tina Peters since she was under state charges ad not federal?
I have to wonder why Trump pardoned this guy. I saw a blurb on X predicting that he’d pardon Diddy...which would be infuriating.
“I saw a blurb on X predicting that he’d pardon Diddy...which would be infuriating.”
Have you followed the case? It was a travesty. Diddy is a great business man who made a lot of money and didn’t deserve the vindictive treatment he received.
Changpeng Zhao
George Santos
Michele Fiore
Trevor Milton
Jason Galanis
Carlos Wilson
Charles Kushner
Todd and Julie Chrisley
Paul Walczak
Scott Jenkins
Rod Blagojevich
Paul Manafort
Bernard Kerik
Conrad Black
Duncan Hunter
As far as I can tell, he didn’t “screw” anyone.
Biden pretty much put him in prison as part of his war on crypto currency.
Among the crimes CZ *admitted* to in his plea deal was money laundering for Hamas.
This is mind blowing.
I remember when he pled guilty - I’m not a crypto guy, but I do follow all manner of finance-related crimes and I thought the sleepy joe DOJ let him off far, far too easy.
The guy is a crook and a grifter of the highest order - and he *literally* facilitated terrorist money laundering.
I just cannot fathom giving this guy a pardon. His sentence was far too light and now with a pardon? He’s free to return to his grifting and terrorist money laundering.
I’m betting this was part of the Gaza deal............
I’m sure he pinkie swears he’ll never launder money for terrorists ever again.
Kind of.
What his organization did wrong is not comply with the ever-changing anti-money-laundering rules for small transactions.
This allowed money laundering by clever people.
I’m on the board of a bank and face much more lenient rules but we literally stopped doing business with anyone who is a Mexican national because there is zero way to figure out if something shady is going on. Of course, refusing to do business is a violation of other laws, but those are civil and we’d rather pay a fine than go to prison.
Diddy is a great man and a role model. Unfairly maligned.
The problem is -
And I just going from memory when he/Binance was charged, Binance wasn’t forgetting paperwork or caught by byzantine regulations. They were literally structuring in such a way to create a backdoor.
They weren’t “advertising” on the dark web “Hey, hamas... ISIS... etc - we’re open for business!” but they might as well have been.
This was more than even Sgt Schultz “I see NOTHING!”, it was Sgt Schultz saying I *want* to see NOTHING!
His crime was failing to report enough of his customers’ private financial data to federal regulators.
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