Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison in Seattle on Tuesday after pleading guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws.
At his sentencing hearing Tuesday, Zhao apologized and said he wanted to take responsibility for his “mistakes.” He also said Binance has implemented know-your-customer and anti-money laundering programs and is cooperating with the government, as reported by The Verge.
The prosecution is investigating 36 months Zhao was jailed and said he and his exchange targeted American users and intentionally violated U.S. law.
“Zhao’s willful violation of U.S. law was neither accidental nor accidental,” prosecutors said in a previous sentencing memo. “He made the business decision that breaking U.S. law was the best way to attract users, establish a company, and line his pockets.”
Judge Richard Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington said Tuesday he disagreed with the three-year sentence and said he never notified Mr. Zhao of his illegal activities. CoinDesk.
Meanwhile, Zhao’s lawyers asked the court to impose a suspended sentence, saying the former executive “deeply regrets his crimes” and showed he has accepted responsibility.
“Mr. Zhao is a 47-year-old first-time offender. His life is one of dedication to his family, developing technology (specifically Binance) as a force for positive change in the world, and serving the greater good,” his lawyers said. said.
As reported by The Verge, his lawyer, William Burck, pointed out that Zhao faces risk in certain security establishments because he is well-known and cooperates with his wealth and government.
Zhao in November plead guilty Due to the failure to implement an effective anti-money laundering program in the United States, And he agreed to pay a $50 million fine. Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in one of the largest corporate settlements in history. Zhao later stepped down as CEO and was replaced as CEO. Richard TengBefore joining Binance, he served as CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Markets.
Binance is also involved in a lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Regulators sued Binance Holdings and Zhao in June. A cryptocurrency exchange that lied to its customers, failed to restrict access to Binance.com for U.S. investors, misdirected capital into segregated investment funds owned by Zhao, and operated as an unregistered exchange.
letter received
160 or more letter Last week, applications were received on Zhao’s behalf from family, friends and cryptocurrency industry experts. one letterLongtime friends called for a lighter sentence, saying Mr Zhao could “learn from this experience, make amends and become a productive member of society.”
Better Markets CEO Dennis Kelleher called the situation a “miscarriage of justice” and said prosecutors should also pursue other Binance employees.
“Despite the shocking, multi-year history of serious crimes that enabled and facilitated money laundering by Binance, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has only indicted one person, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Binance’s founder, owner, and former CEO,” Kelleher said Monday. The memo said Binance violated the Bank Secrecy Act because it failed to implement an effective anti-money laundering compliance program.
Kelleher also cited Zhao’s wealth. Bloomberg reported that Zhao’s net worth is approximately $42.9 billion.
“But for his crimes, the DOJ fined him only $50 million, or 0.1% of his net worth,” Kelleher added. “No one can seriously think that this is ‘significant’ or would ‘effectively punish Zhao for his criminal conduct’ or ‘deter others,’ as the Justice Department, Treasury Department and other government officials have argued.”
Zhao’s sentencing comes about a month after his archrival, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Last year, a jury found FTX guilty on all seven criminal counts of defrauding its customers, lenders and investors.
At Bankman-Fried’s sentencing, some said Zhao showed remorse, while Bankman-Fried did not.
“CZ is in some ways much smarter than Sam Bankman-Fried,” said Terrence Yang, managing director of Swan Bitcoin. last month. “They’re both pretty evil.”
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