- Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has pledged to reinvest any potential refund from his $4.3 billion DoJ settlement directly into the United States.
- The statement is a strategic “olive branch” following his controversial presidential pardon from Donald Trump, which had sparked significant political backlash.
- CZ’s legal team, led by Teresa Goody Guillen, reiterated that CZ’s case was a compliance failure, not corruption, and that similar penalties have been levied on major banks without criminal charges.
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder of Binance, has pledged to reinvest any potential refund from his historic $4.3 billion Department of Justice (DoJ) settlement directly into the United States.
The pledge was made in response to a question from blockchain advisor Aandy Lian regarding how CZ would handle the funds if the DoJ were to return them, a possibility raised following his recent and controversial presidential pardon from Donald Trump.
“Ah, delicate question,” CZ replied. He acknowledged the complexity of asking for more after receiving a rare and controversial pardon, saying he wants to balance fairness with gratitude.
“IF we get any refund, we will be investing that in America anyway, to show our appreciation.”
A Legal Saga That Reshaped Crypto
CZ’s legal troubles began years earlier. In late 2023, he stepped down as Binance CEO after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti‑money laundering program. Binance paid a staggering $4.3 billion in penalties, one of the largest corporate settlements in US history, while Zhao personally received a $50 million fine.
He was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 and released in September of the same year. Then, President Donald Trump’s return to the White House brought a new era for crypto.
In late October 2025, Trump issued a presidential pardon for CZ. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis called the pardon “a bad signal,” arguing, “He was convicted. He’s not innocent.”
Meanwhile, Trump publicly distanced himself from personal involvement. In a “60 Minutes” interview, he insisted he didn’t know who CZ was and had never met him. But he defended the pardon as an economic necessity.
Rumors of a Crypto-Backed Pardon Fall Apart
The pardon’s timing, arriving just as Binance’s links to Trump’s family ventures surfaced, led to speculations that Zhao might have bought his freedom with crypto. But Zhao’s lead attorney, Teresa Goody Guillen, denied the theory on Anthony Pompliano’s podcast.
“Impossible. It could never happen,” she said, adding that any Bitcoin payment would be traceable on-chain and that critics had produced zero evidence. According to Guillen, Zhao’s case was always about a compliance failure, not corruption, and that major financial institutions have faced similar penalties without criminal charges.
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