Donald Trump pardoned private equity executive David Gentile, who defrauded thousands of ordinary people and received a seven-year prison sentence, along with a fine. The pardon was issued with little publicity, but when it became public, questions arose again about why the US president continues to ignore Sam Bankman-Fried‘s requests.
According to the platform’s traders polymarket, the probability of early release of the former head of FTX is 2%. Users Kalshi The likelihood of Bankman-Fried being pardoned by the end of this year is believed to be only 4%. These figures suggest that crypto community members believe his release from prison is unlikely, especially since the exchange founder financed Donald Trump’s political rival.
Gentile was the founder and CEO of GPB Capital, which U.S. prosecutors say raised about $1,6 billion from investors by inflating the success of a private equity fund.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt, speaking on the matter, implied that the case was reviewed because the Biden-era Justice Department, which oversaw the prosecution, mischaracterized it as a Ponzi scheme and Gentile had concerns about false testimony.
Trump’s pardons mostly target people with lighter sentences and MAGA ties. Bankman-Fried doesn’t fit into either category, with his billion-dollar fraud conviction and massive donation to Biden. Nevertheless, the former FTX CEO isn’t giving up hope.