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The businessman pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws.
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The court has issued a sentence substantially lower than that suggested by prosecutors
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has been sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to violating anti-trust laws. money laundering of the United States. The sentence was imposed Tuesday in Seattle by U.S. District Judge Richard Jones. The 47-year-old businessman was not immediately taken into custody and left the premises once the hearing was over. It is still unclear in which federal detention center he will serve his sentence.
As Reuters points out, prosecutors had requested three years in prison after considering that the executive had launched a “Wild West” model beneficial to members of terrorist groups and other criminals who carried out operations with cryptocurrencies. Judge Jones, however, said the suggested sentence was inappropriate because it had not been proven that Zhao knew that the funds passing through the platform were related to crimes.
Changpeng Zhao will spend four months in prison
Today’s sentencing hearing is the final chapter of a long judicial process that has had as its epicenter the activity of the most used cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The Court concluded that Zhao had put the Binance growth facing compliance with the regulations to which financial institutions in the United States are subject, which is why the platform was used for a variety of illicit activities.
Between 2018 and 2022, Binance reportedly processed at least $800 million in transactions that violated US regulations. Some clients, they claim, made unauthorized transactions with residents of Iran. It is also noted that the platform has been used by Hamas, an organization declared terrorist by Washington, to raise money through Bitcoin. And there was no shortage of operations related to computer crimes such as ransomware.
It should be noted that the definition that has been known today complements the previous agreement that Zhao had reached with Justice. The businessman made a disbursement of 50 million dollars as a fine and resigned as CEO of Binance. The platform, for its part, agreed to pay a fine of $4.3 billion and incorporate independent supervisory actors to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.
Before the reading of the sentence, the businessman was at his home in the United Arab Emirates, a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. The fact that he traveled to Seattle to face the charges may have helped avoid major consequences, although it has been insufficient to obtain the probation that had been requested by the defense. Zhao must serve his sentence in prison, although it is not clear for how long.
The Binance founder was not taken into custody immediately after hearing his sentence and was allowed to leave the premises. Now, according to AP, his destiny may be a federal prison. This may be because is not a US citizen (he was born in China and emigrated to Canada at the age of 12) and that he is a high-profile personality who has collaborated with American law enforcement agencies. The defense has asked that the Federal Detention Center, SeaTac, be considered.
If this finally happens, Zhao will become the richest person in history to enter a US federal detention center. Despite the ups and downs of the world of cryptocurrencies, the businessman boasts a fortune of about $40 billion. In fact, at the time of writing this article he ranks 38th among the richest people on the planet, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
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