BlockBeats News, January 24th, Binance founder CZ stated in a CNBC interview at Davos, “Three months after being pardoned by Trump, the past three months have felt more free, I feel it is more of a psychological change. It’s like a heavy burden has finally been lifted. I was actually free before, but carrying the identity of a serious criminal. But now I am a truly free man.”
CZ openly described his prison experience as extremely bad, highly consistent with movie depictions, including the strict body search on the day of incarceration. His first cellmate was a double murderer who had already served about 12 years and had another 18 years to go. He mentioned he never expected to go to prison because in the history of the United States, no one had ever been sentenced to prison for a single violation of the Bank Secrecy Act; previous similar cases mostly ended in Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPA) or home confinement. He originally expected at most 6-12 months of home confinement and was surprised to actually go to prison.
CZ stated that the pardon application was submitted through a lawyer, and the entire process was a “black box” to him, and he is still unclear about the specific decision-making process. He never met Trump privately, only “saw him from a distance” at the Davos forum. Regarding the pardon outcome, CZ expressed gratitude. At the same time, CZ stated that there is no connection between Binance and the Trump family.
