Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) confirmed in the Farohk Radio podcast that he filed a pardon request with U.S. President Donald Trump.
This happened two weeks ago.
In September 2024, CZ was released. The entrepreneur served a four-month sentence on charges of money laundering and other illegal activities. As part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, he agreed to pay a $50 million fine and step down from the position of CEO of the exchange.
In March, Bloomberg and WSJ published articles claiming that Zhao was seeking a pardon amid discussions of business deals with the Trump family. CZ denied the journalists' information.
“Sorry to disappoint. The WSJ article misrepresented the facts,” Zhao wrote at that time.
But, as he admitted, it was the materials from news outlets that prompted him and his lawyers to request a pardon.
“If they are writing this article, we could just officially file a petition,” Zhao commented.
He emphasized that he took this step only after the publications in the newspapers.
CZ also stated that he is not interested in returning to the position of CEO of Binance. Before being released from prison, the exchange permanently banned him from management. However, the current CEO of the platform, Richard Teng, noted that Zhao remains its largest shareholder.
It is worth noting that in March, Trump pardoned three co-founders of BitMEX — Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed.