President Donald Trump pardoned Joe Lewis, a British billionaire who… pleaded guilty last year federal charges of insider trading.
Lewis, whose family remains the controlling shareholder of English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, was charged in 2023 on allegations that he plotted for years to abuse his access to corporate boardrooms and repeatedly shared inside information with romantic partners, associates, private pilots and others.
“Mr. Lewis admitted he made a terrible mistake, did not fight extradition in this case, and paid a $5 million fine,” a White House spokesman told NBC News in a statement Thursday confirming the pardon. This was first reported by The Athletic.
The statement said Lewis, 88, who now lives in the Bahamas, “sought clemency so he could receive medical care and visit his grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the United States.”
Lewis's net worth is $6.9 billion. according to Forbes.
In a statement provided by Harry Roxburgh, a spokesman for the Tavistock Group, Lewis said: “I'm glad this is all now behind me and I can enjoy retirement and watch my family and extended family continue to build our business on the quality and commitment to excellence that has become our trademark.”
A source close to Lewis' family said in a statement that Lewis and his family are “extremely grateful for this pardon and would like to thank President Trump for this action.”
Trump recently pardons resumed after the White House temporarily suspended work and tried to tighten its inspections over concerns that the process had become profitable business for lobbying and consulting firms during Trump's second term.
Trump on Monday pardoned his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and 76 others involved in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, including lawyers Sidney Powell, John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebrough, as well as his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows. However, these pardons are considered largely symbolic because none of these individuals were convicted of federal crimes that are protected by presidential pardon powers.
Last month Trump commuted the sentence former Rep. George Santos. A New York Republican was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty last year to face charges of fraud and aggravated identity theft.
