Amid a flurry of pardons President Donald Trump
issued to white-collar criminals last week, one name that has largely escaped notice did not belong to a person at all.
In what may have been a first, Trump pardoned a corporation. The company to earn that distinction was a cryptocurrency exchange sentenced to a $100 million fine for violating an anti-money laundering law.
“As far as I know, the president has never granted a full pardon to a corporation.”
The move surprised scholars of presidential pardons, which have traditionally been considered the
domain of human beings. Several experts contacted by The Intercept said Trump appears to have acted within his powers, but they were unaware of any prior instances of corporations granted full pardons.
“There have been plenty of cases where presidents have remitted fines or forfeitures, or something else like that,” said Margaret Love, who served as U.S. pardon attorney from 1990 to 1997. “As far as I know, the president has never granted a full pardon to a corporation.”
One longtime critic of the federal government’s lenient approach to corporate crime said Trump’s pardon sent a dangerous message.
“Putting corporate pardons on the table strengthens Trump’s corrupt and authoritarian power over corporations,” said Rick Claypool, research director for consumer advocacy group Public Citizen’s president’s office. “This has the potential to trigger a lobbying frenzy for any corporation that has faced federal enforcement.”
BitMEX’s Big Break
Trump’s pardon of HDR Global Trading, the owner and operator of crypto exchange BitMEX, was issued at the same time as pardons for three of the company’s co-founders and one of its employees.
Just like people, corporations can be convicted of crimes. While they cannot be sentenced to prison, they can face fines and serious consequences such as being barred from federal contracts.
The company and the four employees,
including influential Bitcoin booster Arthur Hayes, pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires businesses to take steps to prevent money laundering.
Prosecutors said the company pretended to pull out of the U.S. market to avoid complying with the law, but
knew its withdrawal was nothing more than a “sham,” even seeking out U.S.-based influencers to market its platform.
HDR Global Trading is incorporated in the Seychelles, an Indian Ocean island nation that has been dubbed a
tax haven by the Tax Justice Network.
The company pleaded guilty last July. Two months ago, a federal judge handed it a $100 million fine and two years’ probation. The fine was supposed to be paid within 60 days of the judgment’s entry into the court record. The company said it had not paid the fine before receiving the pardon. The timing of Trump’s pardon means the company avoided the fine deadline by hours.
BitMEX says it still
bars U.S. citizens from using its services. In a statement, the company thanked Trump.
“The BitMEX platform will continue to lead the market as the safest, most trusted, financially-stable, and professionally operated crypto derivatives exchange, employing new products and innovations month by month to many satisfied users,” the company said.
If the company had paid the judgment, legal scholars said, there would be no refund.
Under 1877 Supreme Court
precedent, the president’s pardon power “cannot touch moneys in the treasury of the United States, except expressly authorized by act of Congress.”
BitMEX was not the only company to catch a break. Separately, Trump on Friday
commuted the probation of Ozy Media, an online outlet that collapsed under allegations of fraud by its founder
Carlos Watson two years ago. Ozy was also released from having to pay fines or restitution.
theintercept.com
