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The lawyer for Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) denied allegations that his pardon from US President Donald Trump was a part of a ”pay-for-play” deal.
Throughout an look on Anthony Pompliano’s “Pomp Podcast,” Teresa Goody Guillén stated the criticism round her consumer’s pardon is a “pile up of quite a lot of false statements.”
She stated the request adopted the usual authorities evaluation course of, passing by way of the Justice Division’s pardon lawyer and the White Home Counsel’s Workplace earlier than reaching Trump’s desk.
Democratic lawmakers, together with Senator Elizabeth Warren, have alleged that Zhao’s pardon was politically motivated and tied to Binance’s help for the Trump household’s World Liberty Monetary. Guillén rejected these claims, saying there was no proof WLFI was Trump’s firm.
“Individuals are making these assumptions that simply present a elementary misunderstanding of how both enterprise works or how blockchain works,” she stated. “It’s important to write up the justification, after which quite a lot of folks look by way of it.”
WLFI Not Actually Trump’s Venture
CZ’s private lawyer stated that she has not “seen something” that reveals her that WLFI is certainly Trump’s firm.
And whereas Binance has listed the venture’s governance token and its USD1 stablecoin, Guillén famous that many different main platforms have additionally listed them.
WLFI markets (Supply: CoinMarketCap)
CZ Pardon Was Justice, Lawyer Says
CZ was sentenced to 4 months in jail in 2024 for violating the US Financial institution Secrecy Act when he didn’t implement correct Anti-Cash Laundering (AML) and Know Your Buyer (KYC) controls at Binance. As a part of a plea deal, he needed to step down from his function on the time because the alternate’s CEO along with the jail sentence.
Trump pardoned him in October, saying the Binance co-founder was locked away for one thing that “wasn’t a criminal offense” through the former Joe Biden administration’s “witch hunt” on crypto.
Guillén stated her consumer was “pardoned for justice” as a result of he was a scapegoat for the Biden administration’s battle on crypto.
“I believe it was a part of the battle on crypto, and at that time, this was shut after the FTX collapse and I believe that the battle in crypto needed to go towards someone, and so they needed to prosecute someone and actually persecute somebody,” she stated, including that Binance and CZ have been focused.
She additionally stated that there have been previous cases the place CEOs of main conventional finance establishments have been discovered responsible of the identical fees as her consumer, however didn’t serve jail time.
In CZ’s case, Guillén stated that there was no fraud and no victims. There was no felony historical past both, she stated, including that jail sentences for the crimes CZ was discovered responsible of are an anomaly.
CZ Says Any Refund Of $4.3 Billion Fantastic Will Be Invested In The US
Binance’s settlement settlement with regulators additionally included a $4.3 billion tremendous, one of many largest in crypto’s historical past.
On X, one person requested CZ whether or not Binance will probably be refunded the $4.3 billion following the pardon. CZ stated this was a “delicate query.”
ah, delicate query.
1. I admire the pardon already. There’s a stability in asking for extra vs “what’s truthful” vs admire what you bought already.
2. IF we get any refund, we will probably be investing that in America anyway, to point out our appreciation.
Have not requested but, I believe🙏
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) November 17, 2025
He stated he appreciates the pardon, and that there’s a stability in terms of “asking for extra vs ‘what’s truthful’ vs admire what you bought already.”
“IF we get any refund, we will probably be investing that in America anyway, to point out our appreciation,” CZ added.
He stated he doesn’t suppose Binance or his authorized group have submitted a request for a refund but.
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