Former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance Chanpeng Zhao faces three-year prison sentence

It has been revealed that prosecutors are seeking a three-year prison sentence for Changpeng Zhao, co-founder of major cryptocurrency exchange Binance and former CEO who resigned as CEO in November 2023 for failing to implement effective anti-money laundering measures.

US seeks 3-year prison for Binance founder Zhao | Reuters

US DOJ Seeks Three-Year Jail Term for Former Binance CEO Zhao - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-24/us-doj-seeks-three-year-jail-term-for-former-binance-ceo-zhao

DOJ: Ex-Binance Head Deserves 3 Years in Prison
https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2024/doj-ex-binance-head-deserves-3-years-in-prison/

After the 'largest investigation in history,' the Department of Justice demanded that Binance pay a settlement or file criminal charges against CEO Zhao in November 2023 for violating the Bank Secrecy Act. In response, Binance agreed to pay a total of approximately $4.3 billion (approximately 669 billion yen), and CEO Zhao resigned in disgrace.

However, prosecutors went ahead with the indictment, arguing that Zhao 'continued to violate U.S. law because he believed it was necessary for the company's growth, and continued to run the company despite knowing that he was violating the law.'

'As Zhao admitted, violating U.S. law was important to his company's success and profits, and Binance would not have become as large as it is today, nor would it have generated the revenues it has generated in the United States over the past two years, if it had complied with the law,' prosecutors wrote.

The maximum sentence recommended by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines is 18 months in prison (1 year and 6 months), but the sentence requested this time is twice that, 36 months (3 years), reflecting the magnitude of the intentional violation.

Zhao's lawyers are arguing for leniency, citing his calm acceptance of his crime as a first-time offender, the fact that he has already been fined $50 million, and the lack of precedents for similar cases in which he has received prison time. Zhao is free on $175 million bail and has agreed not to appeal any sentence within the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Sentencing before U.S. Judge Richard Jones is scheduled for April 30, 2024.