Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the former Binance CEO, confirmed in an interview that has formally requested a presidential forgiveness of Donald Trump.
However, he also clarified that he has no plans to return as a leader in the world’s largest cryptographic exchange.
Former CEO files for Clemency
Zhao said on Farokh radio podcast that the application was submitted through its legal team two weeks ago. He explained that the decision to proceed occurred after the news reports in March of Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal claimed that he was looking for a forgiveness in relation to cryptographic linked to the Trump family.
“We only introduce ourselves after Bloomberg’s article and the Wall Street Journal article came out,” said Zhao, referring to his initial denial of the reports. “If you are writing this article, we could also officially apply,” he added.
In March, Zhao publicly dismissed the report on X, saying that the media had reported incorrect information and that he had not maintained any discussion on a Binance Us agreement.
However, he acknowledged that he would not oppose amnesty:
“No criminal would care about forgiveness, especially the only one in the history of the United States that was sentenced to prison for a single position of BSA.”
In the recent interview, CZ also explained that part of the motivation came from the previous decision of President Trump to forgive the founders of Bitmex, including Arthur Hayes, who declared himself guilty of violations of the Bank Secretation Law (BSA).
CZ will not return to Binance
Although Zhao is looking for clemency, he revealed that he has no plans to return to the company’s leadership. “I’m not really looking to become CEO of Binance again,” he said. Despite giving up, he is still the biggest shareholder of encryption exchange.
His legal problems began in November 2023, when he declared himself guilty of a money laundering violation in an agreement with the US authorities. Binance agreed to pay a fine of $ 4.3 billion, and CZ contributed $ 50 million. The former executive was also ordered to resign as CEO of the company.
He was later sentenced to four months in prison and was forbidden to play any paper in Binance. According to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), while a presidential forgiveness would not erase his conviction, he could allow him to assume a management or operational position in the company.
Since he completed his prison mandate, Zhao has assumed advice positions abroad. In Pakistan, it supports the Crypto de la Nación Council with the planning of policies and infrastructure. He also signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Investment Agency in Kyrgyzstan to help with web3 initiatives and the development of digital finance.
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