Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance, completed his four-month prison sentence in the United States and was released on September 27. With a personal fortune of nearly $60 billion, he became the richest person ever imprisoned in the United States and the 25th richest person in the world.
Despite no longer managing Binance, the company's current team is still going strong, with over 230 million global users. The story of the journey of one of the world's largest crypto billionaires is worth looking back on after this event.
What charges landed CZ in jail?
Binance founder CZ was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 for money laundering, after pleading guilty to violating US Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws and stepping down as CEO in November 2023.
The US Justice Department said CZ also pleaded guilty to money laundering and sanctions violations, a sentence that was lighter than the initial request for 36 months in prison.
“Zhao knew that his decision to not implement an effective AML program would cause Binance to facilitate transactions between U.S. users and users in Iran and other sanctioned countries and regions in violation of U.S. law,” prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memo.
Why did the judge order a reduced sentence?
During a hearing on April 30, Judge Richard Jones sentenced CZ to four months in prison, surprising the crypto community given the seriousness of the charges from the Department of Justice.
The judge argued that there was no evidence that CZ knew about illegal activity at Binance. He also highlighted the large number of letters of support, with positive testimonials from many of CZ's acquaintances.
CZ's fortune and 90% of his Binance stake remain unaffected
CZ agreed to pay a $50 million fine in a U.S. lawsuit in November 2023, while Binance paid $4.3 billion for violating AML laws. CZ's personal assets were not affected, and he still holds 90% of Binance shares.
CZ claims that almost all of his net worth is in crypto, with no real estate or significant fiat currency. In 2013, he sold his house to buy Bitcoin, starting his crypto journey. According to Forbes, CZ owns 64% of the total supply of BNB, Binance's native cryptocurrency.
