News has emerged that Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national and former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, has reportedly sought a federal pardon from the former US President, Donald Trump. This plea follows his 2023 conviction and subsequent 18-month prison term, according to a recent report by Russian state media outlet, TASS.
After pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed money transferring business, Legkodymov’s legal representation officially requested a presidential pardon from Trump. Legkodymov was indicted in January 2023, admitted his guilt in December, and was sentenced to time served in July 2024 after spending approximately 18 months in custody.
Ivan Melnikov, the Vice President of the Russian branch of the International Committee for Human Rights, suggested that Legkodymov was a scapegoat in a political campaign against the crypto market and skilled Russian programmers. He added that the plea for pardon is based on the optimism that the US might adopt a more balanced and equitable approach towards digital finance.
As per the indictment, Legkodymov was involved in an operation that enabled the transmission of illegal funds via his role at Bitzlato. US authorities claim that hundreds of millions of dollars were transferred from Bitzlato to the dark web’s Hydra Marketplace, with the exchange receiving approximately $15 million linked to ransomware attacks.
Reportedly, French authorities are seeking to extradite Legkodymov to face similar charges after his US sentence. It remains uncertain if Trump has received the pardon request or if he intends to act on it. As of the time of reporting, Cointelegraph had not received a response from the White House.
Since assuming presidency in January, Trump has granted at least 58 presidential pardons. Among those pardoned were Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, who was serving two life sentences in federal prison, and four ex-executives of the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX: Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Gregory Dwyer, and Samuel Reed.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, revealed in May that he had sought a pardon from Trump. Zhao admitted to one felony charge in November 2023 as part of an agreement with US authorities and Binance, leading to a four-month prison term. There are reports that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is also seeking a federal pardon from Trump by making appearances on conservative news channels and distancing himself from the Democratic Party. In 2024, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison and is currently housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terminal Island.
