Anatoly Legkodymov, the co-founder of crypto exchange Bitzlato, has sought a presidential pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump. Legkodymov was sentenced in 2023 after pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed money transferring business. His plea came with a prison term of 18 months.
His lawyers argue that he was caught up in a political campaign against the crypto market and Russian programmers. The charges involve operating an operation that illegally transferred large sums of money via his platform, Bitzlato. U.S. officials claim that Bitzlato facilitated transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars from the dark web marketplace, Hydra.
Legkodymov could face similar charges in France after completing his sentence in the U.S., and it thus far remains unclear whether Trump has received the request for the pardon or will consider it.
Meanwhile, others in the crypto space have also sought similar pardons from the President, including Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, former CEO of Binance. Zhao pleaded guilty to a felony charge in November 2023 and served a four-month term. Reports also indicate Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, is exploring the option of pursuing a pardon. President Trump has issued 58 pardons since he took office, with Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road, and four executives of crypto exchange BitMEX among them.