Anthony Scaramucci has thoughts on Sam Bankman-Fried's prison sentence, and they might surprise you. The financier, who lost money in FTX's spectacular implosion, thinks 25 years behind bars is too much for the disgraced crypto founder.

Speaking with CNBC on Thursday, Scaramucci weighed in on whether Bankman-Fried should receive clemency similar to what President Donald Trump recently granted Changpeng Zhao, the former Binance chief. His answer? It's complicated.

"He victimized me and many others and obviously the story is quite famous. The sentence is probably too rough on him but he didn't take good direction from his legal counsel," Scaramucci said.

Bankman-Fried is currently serving that 25-year sentence after being convicted on multiple fraud charges tied to the collapse of FTX. Prosecutors successfully argued that he misused customer funds, orchestrating what became one of the largest financial scandals in crypto history.

Here's where Scaramucci's critique gets interesting. He pointed to Bankman-Fried's legal strategy as a major factor in the outcome. The FTX founder could have taken a plea deal and walked away with less time, but he chose to roll the dice at trial instead.

"He could have pled out and had a smaller sentence. He decided not to do that and so he's sitting there with a 25-year sentence. If you're asking me as a Christian do I think that that sentence is too onerous for him given everything that went down in the aftermath of it, I do," Scaramucci explained.

But don't mistake sympathy for absolution. Scaramucci was clear about the severity of Bankman-Fried's actions. "I think what Sam did was terrible frankly and probably deserved jail time," he said. "25 years though I think is a bit too much."

The contrast with Zhao's case is striking. Scaramucci actually wrote a letter supporting Zhao's pardon and celebrated when Trump granted it. He suggested that relationships and proximity to power played a role in the different outcomes.

"I don't think he's close to President Trump and I don't think the people around him have the president's ear and you know the CZ case is a different case," Scaramucci said, referring to Bankman-Fried's lack of White House connections.

Scaramucci framed his entire argument through what he called a moral lens, arguing that while accountability absolutely matters, proportional justice should factor into the equation too. Even if you're a victim, you can believe the punishment doesn't quite fit the crime.