INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, reportedly requested a federal pardon from US
President Donald Trump after a 2023 guilty plea and serving 18 months in prison
pardon after he pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business
Legkodymov was indicted in January 2023, pleaded guilty in December, and was sentenced to time served in July 2024 after being in custody
said Ivan Melnikov, vice president of the Russian branch of the International Committee for Human Rights, according to TASS
US authorities alleged that hundreds of millions of dollars flowed from Bitzlato to the dark web Hydra Marketplace, and the exchange
received about $15 million connected to ransomware attacks.Related: Binance founder CZ Zhao asked Trump to pardon money laundering
convictionFrench authorities were reportedly attempting to extradite Legkodymov to face similar charges after his time in the US
Cointelegraph reached out to the White House for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.Since taking office in
January, Trump has issued at least 58 presidential pardons
Among them were Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who had been facing two life sentences in federal prison, and four former executives of
May that he had applied for a pardon from Trump
Zhao pleaded guilty to one felony charge in November 2023 as part of a deal between US authorities and Binance
He served four months in prison.Reports have suggested that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was also attempting to secure a federal pardon
from Trump by speaking on conservative news outlets and distancing himself from the Democratic Party
Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024 and was housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terminal Island as of
