US President Donald Trump on Thursday pardoned Jewish-British billionaire Joe Lewis, who had pleaded guilty to insider trading in 2024.
The Lewis family trust owns the English Premier League soccer club Tottenham Hotspur.
Lewis, 88, “requested a pardon so that he may receive medical treatment and visit his grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the United States,” a White House official told NBC News.
"I am pleased all of this is now behind me, and I can enjoy retirement and watch as my family and extended family continue to build our businesses based on the quality and pursuit of excellence that has become our trademark," Lewis said in a statement, according to international media.
"Mr. Lewis admitted he made a terrible mistake, did not fight extradition in the case, and paid a $5 million fine," according to international media.
Lewis was accused of passing on information about his companies to his romantic partners, friends, and private pilots, and others, according to international media.
Lewis had an estimated net worth of over $6 billion
In 2023, the year Lewis was arrested, he had an estimated net worth of over $6 billion and was ranked 39th in the Sunday Times Rich List. Lewis currently has an estimated net worth of around $6.9 billion, according to Forbes.
Lewis owns many assets through the investment group Tavistock, the BBC reported. These include shares in finance, sports, energy, and life science companies.
US federal prosecutors, in 2023, accused Lewis of orchestrating a "brazen" insider trading scheme by passing tips about companies in which he invested to friends, personal assistants, private pilots, and romantic partners, including two of Lewis' pilots.
Lewis agreed to a deal in which he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and two counts of securities fraud.
Prosecutors said that in 2019, Lewis lent each pilot $500,000 and encouraged them to buy stock in oncology company Mirati Therapeutics before it released favorable clinical results. Pilot O'Connor texted a friend that he thought "the Boss has inside info," according to the indictment.
Reuters contributed to this report.