October 24, 2025 • 8 mins
LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on:
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WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on:
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Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, convicted of money laundering and fined billions, just received a presidential pardon—and the timing raises eyebrows. From Trump’s new crypto ventures and family-linked investments to a trail of billion-dollar deals tied to Binance, the connections pile up fast. In this episode, the host walks through the facts without commentary (well, almost), leaving listeners to decide whether this is coincidence, cronyism, or just Washington business as usual.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i
WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on:
https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured
Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, convicted of money laundering and fined billions, just received a presidential pardon—and the timing raises eyebrows. From Trump’s new crypto ventures and family-linked investments to a trail of billion-dollar deals tied to Binance, the connections pile up fast. In this episode, the host walks through the facts without commentary (well, almost), leaving listeners to decide whether this is coincidence, cronyism, or just Washington business as usual.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact that we'll have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Big Finance, pardon and things that make you go hmmm.
So yeah, Chanping Zow, the former CEO of Finance they
call them cz Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
He got pardoned, He got pardoned again.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Zoo has been helping Trump out over the past few
months in Trump's family and wow, would you take a
look at that? He got himself a pardon. Things that
make you go.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
M's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna go through facts
with you here right now. And again, I'm not gonna
I'm not gonna comment. I'm gon try that.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I'm gonna keep my mouth shut on this. I'm just
going to tell you this and you can you can
decide for yourself here, okay.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Things that make you go hmmm. Okay. It was a
CNC Music Factory song from like what.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Nineteen eighty nine, nineteen ninety I think it was a
remake of something else.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Anyway, neither here nor there.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Okay, So earlier this year, Finance hired lobbyists Chess McDowell
to help pursue a pardon. Zoo used to be one
of the big guys in the digital asset world.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
He took a plea deal. Took a plea deal.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
With the US Department of Justice that included a money
laundering conviction and a four point three billion dollar five.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
That's a big check. It's a big check.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
US prosecutors accused Finance of allowing illicit transactions with sanctioned
entities and failing to implement proper anti money laundering controls.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
He pleaded guilty, He paid a personal fine of fifty
million dollars, and he served four months in jail. He
was out last September. He was a low security federal
prison in California and a halfway house. Again, you got
the White House Press secretary saying that Trump exercises constitutional
(02:41):
authority by issuing a pardon for mister Zoo, who was
prosecuted by the Biden administration in their war on crypto currency.
The Biden administration's war on crypto is over. I have
to do like everyone else minus. I have to do
continuing education every single year, and every single year it's
(03:03):
pretty much the same crap. It has a lot to
do with anti money laundering stuff. And to me, I
laugh at it because you know, we know our clients.
And again they listed things in red flags you should
look for.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Anyway, if you take a look at this case, Okay,
he admitted, he admitted to not doing the right thing.
He knowingly allowed groups like Hamas and the Wagner Group,
Putin's little uh little private army as well to utilize finance. Yeah,
(03:49):
they get what we talked about how crypto can be used.
I mean, everybody knows it's the uh you know, it's
a choice currency for bad guys. But anyway, neither here
nor there. Binance recently partnered with Trump's World Liberty FI
on that new stable coin. They are partnered with a
(04:14):
investment firm that is based out of Trump Tower in
New York, the Dominari Holdings. Trump's kids, Trump's kids are
are involved with that. Again, you're you're taking a look
(04:36):
at the I think what things that make you go, Okay,
we'll go back here. November twenty twenty three, Binance and
ZZ plead guilty four billion dollar fine. March of twenty
twenty five, Trump WLFI that World Liberty FI launches a
stable coin USD one May of twenty or I'm sorry
(04:58):
March of twenty twenty five to million dollar investment into
Binance by another company out of the UAE called MGX
May of twenty twenty five. Two billion dollar investment was
paid in USD one May of twenty twenty five. Cz
(05:20):
admits he applied for a pardon October of twenty twenty five.
He got that pardon that USD one is backed by
treasuries yielding sixty to eighty million dollars a year, So
as long as Binance doesn't redeem that two billion, that's
a lot of interests that the Trumps are going to
(05:44):
be getting based upon this. Things that make you go.
And then yesterday he gets asked a question about his pardon,
and he said he didn't know the crypto person and
(06:04):
pardoned cz quote at the request of a lot of
very good people, and then proceeded to berate the reporter, saying,
you don't know much about crypto, you know nothing about
you know nothing about nothing, your fake news things that
make you go hmm okay again, not gonna say another word.
(06:28):
I'm not gonna say another word. Okay with you, way,
no problem, so that the sausage is made in Washington, DC.
You know what I'm gonna say one thing, Flip it,
flip it.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
If this was Joe Biden.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Making this pardon, what would the folks on Fox News
be saying? Again? I remember, I remember the collective freak
out in this country when Bill Clinton pardoned the name
will come to me and it's Richard's Denise Richard. No,
(07:17):
I forget her name, It'll come to me in a second.
She was a songwriter here and her husband, Rich Denise
Rich got it Mark Rich again.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
I know I'm getting old. This is going back a while.
It's going back to like nineteen ninety nine, two thousand.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Mark Rich got in trouble and he was a well
he couldn't come back to the United States. He was
trading oil with the Iranians or something like that, and
Denise Rich was a big contributor to the Clintons and
crash bang boom. Mark Rich got a pardon Clinton on
his way out the door, and everybody had a collective freakout.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Guess it's kind of the same thing. And again, you know,
like I said.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Everybody's going to grip their pearls and freak out, depending
upon what side you're on, once you.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Recognize that both sides.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Engage in the same crap and that maybe we should
just start making better decisions in the quality of individuals
we vote for. Just throwing that out there, my one
comment on this entire story watch Dog on Wall Street
dot com
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact that we'll have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Big Finance, pardon and things that make you go hmmm.
So yeah, Chanping Zow, the former CEO of Finance they
call them cz Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
He got pardoned, He got pardoned again.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Zoo has been helping Trump out over the past few
months in Trump's family and wow, would you take a
look at that? He got himself a pardon. Things that
make you go.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
M's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna go through facts
with you here right now. And again, I'm not gonna
I'm not gonna comment. I'm gon try that.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I'm gonna keep my mouth shut on this. I'm just
going to tell you this and you can you can
decide for yourself here, okay.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Things that make you go hmmm. Okay. It was a
CNC Music Factory song from like what.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Nineteen eighty nine, nineteen ninety I think it was a
remake of something else.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Anyway, neither here nor there.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Okay, So earlier this year, Finance hired lobbyists Chess McDowell
to help pursue a pardon. Zoo used to be one
of the big guys in the digital asset world.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
He took a plea deal. Took a plea deal.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
With the US Department of Justice that included a money
laundering conviction and a four point three billion dollar five.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
That's a big check. It's a big check.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
US prosecutors accused Finance of allowing illicit transactions with sanctioned
entities and failing to implement proper anti money laundering controls.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
He pleaded guilty, He paid a personal fine of fifty
million dollars, and he served four months in jail. He
was out last September. He was a low security federal
prison in California and a halfway house. Again, you got
the White House Press secretary saying that Trump exercises constitutional
(02:41):
authority by issuing a pardon for mister Zoo, who was
prosecuted by the Biden administration in their war on crypto currency.
The Biden administration's war on crypto is over. I have
to do like everyone else minus. I have to do
continuing education every single year, and every single year it's
(03:03):
pretty much the same crap. It has a lot to
do with anti money laundering stuff. And to me, I
laugh at it because you know, we know our clients.
And again they listed things in red flags you should
look for.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Anyway, if you take a look at this case, Okay,
he admitted, he admitted to not doing the right thing.
He knowingly allowed groups like Hamas and the Wagner Group,
Putin's little uh little private army as well to utilize finance. Yeah,
(03:49):
they get what we talked about how crypto can be used.
I mean, everybody knows it's the uh you know, it's
a choice currency for bad guys. But anyway, neither here
nor there. Binance recently partnered with Trump's World Liberty FI
on that new stable coin. They are partnered with a
(04:14):
investment firm that is based out of Trump Tower in
New York, the Dominari Holdings. Trump's kids, Trump's kids are
are involved with that. Again, you're you're taking a look
(04:36):
at the I think what things that make you go, Okay,
we'll go back here. November twenty twenty three, Binance and
ZZ plead guilty four billion dollar fine. March of twenty
twenty five, Trump WLFI that World Liberty FI launches a
stable coin USD one May of twenty or I'm sorry
(04:58):
March of twenty twenty five to million dollar investment into
Binance by another company out of the UAE called MGX
May of twenty twenty five. Two billion dollar investment was
paid in USD one May of twenty twenty five. Cz
(05:20):
admits he applied for a pardon October of twenty twenty five.
He got that pardon that USD one is backed by
treasuries yielding sixty to eighty million dollars a year, So
as long as Binance doesn't redeem that two billion, that's
a lot of interests that the Trumps are going to
(05:44):
be getting based upon this. Things that make you go.
And then yesterday he gets asked a question about his pardon,
and he said he didn't know the crypto person and
(06:04):
pardoned cz quote at the request of a lot of
very good people, and then proceeded to berate the reporter, saying,
you don't know much about crypto, you know nothing about
you know nothing about nothing, your fake news things that
make you go hmm okay again, not gonna say another word.
(06:28):
I'm not gonna say another word. Okay with you, way,
no problem, so that the sausage is made in Washington, DC.
You know what I'm gonna say one thing, Flip it,
flip it.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
If this was Joe Biden.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Making this pardon, what would the folks on Fox News
be saying? Again? I remember, I remember the collective freak
out in this country when Bill Clinton pardoned the name
will come to me and it's Richard's Denise Richard. No,
(07:17):
I forget her name, It'll come to me in a second.
She was a songwriter here and her husband, Rich Denise
Rich got it Mark Rich again.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
I know I'm getting old. This is going back a while.
It's going back to like nineteen ninety nine, two thousand.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Mark Rich got in trouble and he was a well
he couldn't come back to the United States. He was
trading oil with the Iranians or something like that, and
Denise Rich was a big contributor to the Clintons and
crash bang boom. Mark Rich got a pardon Clinton on
his way out the door, and everybody had a collective freakout.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Guess it's kind of the same thing. And again, you know,
like I said.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Everybody's going to grip their pearls and freak out, depending
upon what side you're on, once you.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Recognize that both sides.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Engage in the same crap and that maybe we should
just start making better decisions in the quality of individuals
we vote for. Just throwing that out there, my one
comment on this entire story watch Dog on Wall Street
dot com
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