The founder of Binance is sentenced to four months in prison: he will be the richest person to go to jail in the US
businessman pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws
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 US anti-money laundering laws. 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 growth of Binance before 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
