Binance to invest over $4 billion in America if it gets a refund after CZ pardon
Binance founder CZ suggested that if they receive a refund from the $4.3 billion paid to the U.S., the funds would be invested in America.Summary
Following his presidential pardon, Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao indicated on X that if Binance receives any refund from the over $4.3 billion paid to U.S. agencies, the company intends to invest that money back into America. However, the article clarifies that the $4.3 billion figure is not a single refundable sum but a complex mosaic of criminal forfeiture, fines, and civil penalties across multiple agencies like the DOJ, FinCEN, OFAC, and CFTC.
Legally, a presidential pardon for CZ's personal federal conviction does not automatically nullify corporate settlements or civil penalties, nor does it entitle the recipient to reclaim funds already deposited into the U.S. Treasury, based on historical precedent like the 1877 case *Knote v. United States*. Any actual cash refund would likely require explicit legislative appropriation from Congress.
Under a potential Trump administration, maneuvering room exists through issuing further clemency expressly remitting unpaid fines, instructing agencies to renegotiate existing consent orders (potentially shortening monitorships), or through aggressive scenarios combining clemency with new legislation authorizing Treasury returns. Such a move would be politically significant, especially given existing financial ties between Trump-linked crypto projects and Binance partners, and would signal a major shift in U.S. enforcement posture compared to previous administrations.
(Source：CryptoSlate)