Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX sentenced to 25 years in prison, has applied for a pardon from US President Donald Trump. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison two years ago after being convicted on multiple federal charges related to FTX and its sister company Alameda Research.
The 34-year-old former billionaire, now two years into that sentence, has filed an application for a "pardon after completion of sentence" with the Department of Justice, according to online records.
Should Bankman-Fried ultimately receive a pardon, his crimes would be forgiven under the law.
A representative of the White House declined to comment. A lawyer for Bankman-Fried did not reply to a request for comment.
A "pardon after completion of sentence" would mean that Bankman-Fried's conviction on fraud charges would be forgiven after he serves his jail sentence.
He has not asked for a commutation, which is a shortening of a criminal sentence.
However, he is currently attempting to appeal his sentence and has long maintained he is innocent.
Bankman-Fried became a famous face of crypto as FTX became a popular exchange used by millions.
The firm collapsed in 2022 amid claims that Bankman-Fried had been using deposited funds as his own, including for personal investments and debt payments.
His pardon application appears among more than 20,000 requests for either pardon or commutation, according to records of the Office of the Pardon Attorney.
Trump has issued a number of pardons during his second term, including for hundreds of people involved in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, former staff members accused of crimes, the founder of a dark web marketplace for drugs, and even the leader of another crypto platform, Binance.
Yet, Trump was asked earlier this year if he would pardon Bankman-Fried. He indicated at the time that he would not.