Former Binance CEO CZ Vows to Reinvest Any Future Refund of $4.3B DOJ Fine Into the US

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao says he would reinvest any potential refund of Binance’s $4.3 billion settlement with the US Department of Justice again into the United States.

The remark got here after creator and crypto commentator Anndy Lian publicly asked whether CZ expected the US authorities to return the multibillion-dollar penalty following his presidential pardon.

CZ referred to as it a “delicate query,” saying that he was already grateful for the pardon and urged there’s a stability between looking for equity and appreciating the consequence.

CZ Says Any Refund of DOJ Fine Would Be Reinvested in the US

Addressing the situation immediately, CZ stated any refunded quantity can be put to work inside the United States.

“If we get any refund, we might be investing that in America anyway, to present our appreciation,” he stated, including that he has not but requested for one.

Zhao pleaded responsible in November 2023 to failing to preserve an efficient Anti-Money Laundering program at Binance, a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act. He was sentenced to 4 months in jail in April 2024.

Binance paid over $4.3 billion in settlements, whereas CZ personally paid $50 million and served four months in prison earlier than his launch in September 2024.

ah, delicate query.

1. I recognize the pardon already. There is a stability in asking for extra vs “what’s honest” vs recognize what you bought already.

2. IF we get any refund, we might be investing that in America anyway, to present our appreciation.

Haven’t requested but, I believe

— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) November 17, 2025

In October 2025, Zhao was given a presidential pardon by President Donald Trump, which immediately sparked massive backlash.

Senator Elizabeth Warren led opposition to the pardon, writing that “the convergence of Mr. Zhao’s pardon utility and Binance’s monetary entanglements with the President’s household presents pressing considerations relating to the integrity of our justice system.”

She posted that CZ “pleaded responsible to a prison cash laundering cost” earlier than financing Trump’s stablecoin and lobbying for clemency.

A group of Democratic senators, together with Bernie Sanders, Chris Van Hollen, Jack Reed, and Mazie Hirono, despatched a letter to Attorney General Pamela Bondi demanding explanations about how the pardon impacts future white-collar prosecutions.

Representative Maxine Waters significantly called the pardon “an appalling however unsurprising reflection of his presidency.”

CZ’s Lawyer Rejects Corruption Claims

As reported, CZ’s legal professional, Teresa Goody Guillén, has pushed back against allegations that the former Binance CEO’s presidential pardon was influenced by improper monetary ties, calling current media experiences “false statements” based mostly on basic misunderstandings of blockchain expertise.

Guillén argued that CZ “by no means ought to have been prosecuted,” saying he confronted harsher remedy than banking executives who dedicated comparable compliance violations.

She emphasised that the case concerned no victims or fraud and attributed the prosecution to the earlier administration’s broader “warfare on crypto” following the fallout from FTX.

Addressing claims of corruption, Guillén dismissed connections between Binance and Trump-backed World Liberty Financial as misinterpretations of regular blockchain exercise.

Critics had cited USD1, a stablecoin working on Binance Smart Chain, and a $2 billion funding settlement involving the token as proof of quid professional quo.

She countered that USD1 runs throughout a number of chains and isn’t unique to Binance, evaluating the assumption of a particular relationship to claiming somebody has ties to Craigslist merely for posting an merchandise on the platform.

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