CZ will be released from prison on September 29th
Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who is currently serving a four-month prison sentence, will be released by the end of the month.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website, Zhao, also known as inmate 88087-510, will be released from custody on Sept. 29, 118 days after arriving at the low-security Lompoc II prison on California's central coast. He spent three months at Lompoc II before being transferred to a rehabilitation center in San Pedro, California, in late August.
Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison in April, five months after he pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement an adequate know-your-customer (KYC) program at Binance. As part of his guilty plea, Zhao also agreed to pay a $50 million fine and step down as CEO of the crypto exchange.
After Zhao resigned, Richard Teng - a former regulator in Abu Dhabi and Singapore - was appointed CEO of Binance. In addition to the charges against Zhao, Binance was also accused of violating U.S. sanctions and remittance laws and agreed to pay $4.3 million to settle the charges.
His fortune is estimated at $25.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Zhao is believed to be the richest person ever imprisoned in the United States.