Bitzlato Founder Seeks Trump Pardon Amid 20-Year Prison Threat

Anatoly Legkodymov, the Russian co-founder and majority owner of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, has formally requested a pardon from former U.S. President Donald Trump. Legkodymov, who was arrested in Miami in 2023 with the assistance of French authorities, was charged with operating an unlicensed money exchange service through his peer-to-peer crypto trading platform. After a year and a half of court proceedings, he 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, where he may face an additional 20 years in prison.

Legkodymov's lawyer, Ivan Melnikov, revealed that the pardon request comes amid ongoing attempts by French authorities to extradite Legkodymov. Melnikov, who serves as vice president of the Russian branch of the International Committee for Human Rights organization, stated that Legkodymov's decision to seek a pardon from Trump was based on the hope that the U.S. would return to a more balanced and fair approach to digital finance, and that the United States and Russia would gradually build dialogue. Melnikov also claimed that Bitzlato was actually “a noticeboard for transactions” and that Legkodymov is not a criminal, but rather a target in a political campaign against the crypto market and talented Russian programmers.

During his trial in a New York court, Legkodymov pleaded 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, the Hong Kong-registered Bitzlato operated globally, presenting itself as a platform requiring minimal identification from users. 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, a darknet market that 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, it was 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.

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. The pardon request highlights the complex interplay between international law enforcement, digital finance, and geopolitical tensions. It also underscores the ongoing debate surrounding the regulation and oversight of cryptocurrency exchanges and their role in facilitating illicit activities. As the case unfolds, it remains to be seen whether Legkodymov's request for clemency will be granted and what implications this may have for the broader crypto industry and international relations.