U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled out the possibility of pardoning Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of FTX, who is serving a 25-year sentence for fraud. Trump made this statement in an interview with The New York Times.

Also on the "no-pardon" list are former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, music producer Sean "Diddy" Combs, and former New Jersey senator Robert Menendez.

SBF has been in custody since August 2023, when a federal judge denied his bail request ahead of the criminal trial. In March 2024, the crypto entrepreneur was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty on seven counts.

Reports have surfaced in the media indicating that Bankman-Fried's parents are exploring options for securing his pardon. Journalists from the Wall Street Journal reported on the preparation of strategic memorandums and the involvement of external lawyers in the case. However, they found no direct contacts with Trump's campaign team.

Conservative activist Laura Loomer has claimed that there is a "large and well-funded" campaign aimed at convincing the U.S. president to pardon the FTX founder. However, there has been no official confirmation of this.

The U.S. Department of Justice has also not included SBF on its list of candidates for pardon in 2025.

Despite Trump having pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, the market remains skeptical about Bankman-Fried's chances. The likelihood of his release from prison before 2027 is estimated by the community at just 5%.

Source: Polymarket.

Bankman-Fried's situation is further complicated by his political past: he was one of the key donors to the Democratic Party and personally to Joe Biden.

Appeal Prospects

Bankman-Fried still has a chance to appeal his conviction. Hearings in the Appeals Court took place in November, but the final document has yet to be filed. If the appeal is denied, the defense will have only one option left — to petition the U.S. Supreme Court.

The sentences for others involved in the FTX collapse are nearing completion. Caroline Ellison, sentenced to two years in prison, is set to be released on January 21. In October, she was transferred from a federal facility in Connecticut to the New York office of the Reintegration Bureau — a standard procedure in preparation for her release.

It is worth noting that in late October, Bankman-Fried claimed that FTX was solvent at the time of its collapse, stating that its assets amounted to $25 billion while its liabilities were $13 billion.