In a historic first, President Donald Trump has expanded the presidential pardon power to include corporations, issuing an unprecedented pardon to the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX. Although the details of the pardon are not yet available, it’s likely that this move will effectively wipe out the company’s criminal penalties, stemming from its guilty plea for violating the Bank Secrecy Act by operating without a proper anti-money laundering program. Prior to its conviction, BitMEX allowed anonymous trading, raising concerns about its role in facilitating large-scale money laundering and sanctions evasion. BitMEX was criminally fined $100 million in January 2025 after pleading guilty. This fine was in addition to $130 million in civil penalties previously imposed by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
Article II of the Constitution grants presidents broad pardon authority, but until now, pardons have only been applied to individuals. While the Supreme Court has upheld the president’s discretion in granting pardons, past interpretations have focused on human beneficiaries, not corporations.
Can Corporations be Charged with Crimes?
Under certain circumstances, corporations can commit crimes and be indicted for them. A 1999 memorandum from the Justice Department highlights the “important public benefits” of prosecuting corporations, citing deterrence for crimes such as financial frauds that can carry with them a risk of public harm. Corporations are described as “legal persons” capable of suing and being sued, and capable of committing crimes.
https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/criminal-fraud/legacy/2010/04/11/charging-corps.PDF
However, crucially, corporations are criminally held liable for the illegal acts of individual people – the corporation’s directors, officers, employees and agents. The Justice Department notes that “Prosecution of a corporation is not a substitute for the prosecution of criminally culpable individuals within or outside the corporation. Because a corporation can act only through individuals, holding individual wrongdoers criminally liable may provide the strongest deterrent against future corporate wrongdoing.”
https://www.justice.gov/jm/jm-9-28000-principles-federal-prosecution-business-organizations
Have You Been Charged With Financial Crimes Related to Corporate Activity?
If your firm has been accused of corporate crimes, it’s likely that key people will be swept up in these accusations. Firms that offer services at the intersection of tech and finance may be more likely to be accused of crimes given how new these technologies and business models are to legal precedent. If you are an executive targeted in a federal investigation by the SEC, or someone in a key position working for a cryptocurrency or bitcoin firm, and your firm is being investigated, you need to hire an experienced white collar criminal defense attorney without delay. Prosecutors will be keen to justify the expense of a high-profile investigation and will seek serious charges and convictions against people accused of being involved in corporate criminal activity. At Dhar Law, LLP our high level white collar criminal defense attorneys have defended many complex cases in federal court involving corporate crimes and financial crimes. Please contact a member of our criminal defense team at 617-880-6155 to learn more about our corporate white collar criminal defense services.
