SEATTLE (AP) — Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced Tuesday to four months in prison for looking the other way as criminals used the platform to move money connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking and terrorism.
SEATTLE — Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced Tuesday to four months in prison for looking the other way as criminals used the platform to move money connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking and terrorism.U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones credited the founder and former CEO of Binance for taking responsibility for his wrongdoing.
The sentence, which included a previously agreed-to $50 million fine, was far less than the three years the Justice Department had sought, but defense attorneys had asked that Zhao spend no time in prison. For example, Mosley said, Zhao directed the company to disguise customers’ locations in the U.S. in an effort to avoid having to comply with U.S. law.
Defense attorneys Mark Bartlett and William Burck told the judge there was no evidence Zhao knew of any specific transaction that would have been barred by U.S. regulations or sanctions. Also, they argued, Binance transactions that violated U.S. sanctions constituted a miniscule portion for a company that processed trillions of dollars per year. And they noted that Zhao began making changes to improve Binance's compliance before stepping down.
Zhao, his legal team and family members left after Tuesday's hearing without speaking to reporters. Zhao will report to serve his sentence at a date yet to be determined.last November He founded Binance in 2017, motivated at least in part by a desire to help people in underdeveloped countries access reliable banking. The company made him a crypto celebrity and a billionaire many times over; he announced in 2021 that he intends to give away nearly all of his fortune.
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