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Binance founder sentenced to 4 months in prison
Changpeng Zhao, who resigned as the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance in accordance with the agreement he made with the US government in November last year, was sentenced to 4 months in prison.
In the criminal case heard in Seattle Federal Court, prosecutors requested a 3-year prison sentence for Zhao as a deterrent, while defense lawyers requested 5 months of supervised release.
Zhao’s lawyers argued that the former CEO admitted his mistake, came to the US voluntarily, had not violated any laws before and was cooperating.
Zhao, once considered the most powerful person in the crypto industry and known as “CZ”, was sentenced to 4 months in prison for “failing to provide adequate protection against money laundering”.
Binance was fined $4.3 billion
In November last year, the US government fined Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, $4.3 billion for violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. The fine amount in question was one of the largest fines imposed in the country.
Zhao had made a deal with the US government to resolve the investigation into Binance.
Zhao, who was born in China and immigrated to Canada at the age of 12, agreed to resign and pay a $50 million fine as part of the agreement.
Zhao also stated in his post on his X account that he made mistakes and should take responsibility.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was also sentenced to 25 years in prison in April in the criminal case in which he was tried for fraud and money laundering.