Russian crypto criminal seeks U.S. President Trump’s pardon
The post Russian crypto criminal seeks U.S. President Trump’s pardon appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. The Russian founder of a cryptocurrency exchange shut down for allegedly processing illicit funds for criminals has turned to Donald Trump with a plea for a pardon. While having already served his sentence in America, the convicted crypto entrepreneur hopes the U.S. President will help him avoid extradition to France, where he is likely to spend more time in prison. Crypto exchange Bitzlato owner seeks clemency from Trump A Russian national who was arrested and sentenced in the United States for his crypto trading business has asked the U.S. head of state for a pardon, his lawyer, Ivan Melnikov, revealed to Russia’s TASS news agency. Melnikov, who serves as vice president of the Russian branch of the International Committee for Human Rights organization, was quoted on Friday as stating: “Anatoly Legkodymov, the Russian engineer and co-founder of the Bitzlato cryptocurrency platform, has officially asked U.S. President Donald Trump for pardon.” The lawyer noted that the move comes amid ongoing attempts by authorities in Paris to secure Legkodymov’s extradition to France, where he may receive another 20 years behind bars, according to the Russian media report. Legkodymov, who was also the majority owner and chief executive of Bitzlato, was arrested in Miami in 2023, with French help, and later charged for operating the peer-to-peer crypto trading platform as an unlicensed money exchange service. After court proceedings that took a year and a half, the Russian was sentenced to 18 months in prison, which he had already served in pre-trial detention. However, following France’s request for his extradition, the U.S. judiciary decided to keep him in custody. Melnikov, who claims that Bitzlato was actually “a noticeboard for transactions,” insisted: “Anatoly is not a criminal. He became a target in a political campaign against the crypto market and talented Russian programmers.” The legal…
The post Russian crypto criminal seeks U.S. President Trump’s pardon appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
The Russian founder of a cryptocurrency exchange shut down for allegedly processing illicit funds for criminals has turned to Donald Trump with a plea for a pardon. While having already served his sentence in America, the convicted crypto entrepreneur hopes the U.S. President will help him avoid extradition to France, where he is likely to spend more time in prison. Crypto exchange Bitzlato owner seeks clemency from Trump A Russian national who was arrested and sentenced in the United States for his crypto trading business has asked the U.S. head of state for a pardon, his lawyer, Ivan Melnikov, revealed to Russia’s TASS news agency. Melnikov, who serves as vice president of the Russian branch of the International Committee for Human Rights organization, was quoted on Friday as stating: “Anatoly Legkodymov, the Russian engineer and co-founder of the Bitzlato cryptocurrency platform, has officially asked U.S. President Donald Trump for pardon.” The lawyer noted that the move comes amid ongoing attempts by authorities in Paris to secure Legkodymov’s extradition to France, where he may receive another 20 years behind bars, according to the Russian media report. Legkodymov, who was also the majority owner and chief executive of Bitzlato, was arrested in Miami in 2023, with French help, and later charged for operating the peer-to-peer crypto trading platform as an unlicensed money exchange service. After court proceedings that took a year and a half, the Russian was sentenced to 18 months in prison, which he had already served in pre-trial detention. However, following France’s request for his extradition, the U.S. judiciary decided to keep him in custody. Melnikov, who claims that Bitzlato was actually “a noticeboard for transactions,” insisted: “Anatoly is not a criminal. He became a target in a political campaign against the crypto market and talented Russian programmers.” The legal…
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