MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/. Russian engineer Anatoly Legkodymov, arrested in the United States on charges of illegal cryptocurrency trading, has asked US President Donald Trump for a pardon, Ivan Melnikov, vice president of the Russian branch of the International Committee for Human Rights, told TASS.

"Anatoly Legkodymov, Russian engineer and co-founder of the Bitzlato cryptocurrency platform, has officially asked US President Donald Trump for a pardon," Melnikov said. According to him, the move comes amid ongoing attempts by the French authorities to extradite Legkodymov to France, where he is facing 20 years behind bars.

Legkodymov was arrested in the United States in 2023 on charges of operating an unlicensed money exchange service through Bitzlato - a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency platform (an actual notice-board for transactions). His trial took a year and a half, with the Russian eventually sentenced to 18 months in prison, which he already served in pre-trial detention. However, after France put in an extradition request for Legkodymov, the US decided to keep him in custody.

"Anatoly is not a criminal; he became a target in a political campaign against the crypto market and talented Russian programmers. His decision to ask for a pardon is based on the hope that the US will return to a more balanced and fair approach to digital finance, and that the US and Russia will gradually build dialogue," Melnikov added.