Russian Crypto Criminal Makes Desperate Play for Trump’s Pardon—Will It Work?

In a bold move straight out of a geopolitical thriller, a convicted Russian crypto criminal is throwing a Hail Mary at former U.S. President Donald Trump—begging for a presidential pardon that could rewrite their fate.

The Kremlin’s favorite hacker or just another opportunist? Either way, this plea lands as Trump eyes a potential 2024 comeback—timing that reeks of calculated desperation.

Funny how crypto crimes suddenly discover patriotism when facing 20 years in a Florida prison. Maybe they’ll pay their legal fees in Tether—if the lawyers are gullible enough.

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 defender added his client’s decision to seek a pardon from TRUMP was “based on the hope that the U.S. will return to a more balanced and fair approach to digital finance, and that the United States and Russia will gradually build dialogue.”

Another Russian crypto boss in trouble with the West

However, during his trial in a New York court, Legkodymov did plead guilty to running an unlicensed money-transmitting business in late 2023. He also agreed to forfeit $23 million worth of crypto assets associated with his exchange.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Hong Kong-registered Bitzlato operated globally, presenting itself as a platform requiring minimal identification from users. Announcing the charges against its Russian founder, the DOJ explained:

“As a result of these deficient know-your-customer (KYC) procedures, Bitzlato allegedly became a haven for criminal proceeds and funds intended for use in criminal activity.”

The department claimed that Bitzlato’s largest counterparty was Hydra, arguably the largest and longest-running darknet market, which was quite popular in the Russian-speaking corners of the dark web. Hydra users traded an estimated $700 million in coins with the exchange.

The case of Bitzlato and its owner is not the first time a Russian crypto trading platform and its management have found themselves in trouble with law enforcement in the West.

Last month, TASS reported that Poland agreed to hand over to the United States the former chief executive of Wex, once Russia’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Dmitry Vasiliev was arrested in Warsaw in 2024 at a request from the U.S., where he is accused of fraud and money laundering.

Wex is the successor of the infamous BTC-e exchange, believed to have laundered $9 billion. Its alleged operator, Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik, was arrested in Greece in 2017 and later extradited to France, where he was sentenced to five years in prison in December 2020.

Vinnik was then transferred to the U.S. to face additional charges. He was eventually exchanged for American schoolteacher Marc Fogel in a prisoner swap deal agreed by the Trump administration and President Putin’s Russia.

The Bitzlato founder Anatoly Legkodymov’s plea for pardon comes after in January, Trump signed an executive order pardoning Ross Ulbricht, the operator of the Silk Road darknet marketplace, who had served 11 years of his double life sentence without parole.

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