Ex-Binance CEO Jailed For 4 Months In US Over Money Laundering Violations (2024)
Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws.
Washington:
The founder of cryptocurrency firm Binance was sentenced to four months in US prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to money laundering charges, in the most high-profile crypto case since Sam Bankman-Fried was jailed.
Changpeng Zhao, a Canadian, resigned from his post at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange platform late last year as part of a deal with US authorities.
According to investigations by two Treasury agencies, Binance failed to prevent transactions by movements such as the Islamic State group, al-Qaeda or the armed wing of Hamas.
Zhao pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws and Binance agreed in February to pay $4.3 billion to settle charges.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to impose three years behind bars for a crime that typically results in probation, according to a court filing.
"He made a business decision that violating US law was the best way to attract users, build his company, and line his pockets," Justice Department lawyers said of Zhao in a sentencing memorandum.
"The sentence in this case will not just send a message to Zhao but also to the world."
Attorneys for Zhao countered in a filing that being punished with probation is just, appropriate, and in line with legal precedent.
They cited Zhao's acceptance of responsibility along with what they called his philanthropic track record.
"I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility," Zhao, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, in November.
He has been in the United States since that time.
Binance was created in 2017 and cornered much of the crypto-trading market, turning its founder and chief executive Zhao into a billionaire.
While Binance was founded in China, Zhao moved its operations to other locations internationally after a crackdown on the crypto sector by Beijing.
Binance runs crypto exchanges and provides other services around the world, but it took a severe hit when crypto markets collapsed and regulators began probing the legality of its business.
The volatile industry surged in 2021, with a range of complex products and celebrity endorsem*nts propelling it to a valuation in excess of $3 trillion in 2022.
But a series of scandals, including the November 2022 collapse of Binance's main rival exchange, FTX, and criminal charges for several industry executives, saw public confidence evaporate and investors pull their money out of crypto.
FTX founder Bankman-Fried was given a 25-year jail term in March.
The crypto industry has bounced back in recent months, thanks in large part to US regulators giving the go-ahead for exchange traded funds (ETFs) in bitcoin which allow investors to trade the asset without actually opening a crypto account.
Binance's new CEO Richard Teng told AFP this month that the company spent hundreds of millions of dollars on compliance and was working very closely with regulators.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Changpeng Zhao (Chinese: 赵长鹏; pinyin: Zhào Chángpéng), commonly known as CZ, is a Chinese-born Canadian businessman. Zhao is the co-founder and former CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume as of November 2023.
, the former chief executive of Binance, was sentenced on Tuesday to four months in prison after pleading guilty to violating U.S. laws against money laundering at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced on Tuesday to four months in prison after pleading guilty last year to charges that he failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.
Binance last November pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money-laundering requirements and agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine. The exchange also faces civil charges in a SEC lawsuit.
Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, a developer who had previously created high-frequency trading software. Binance was initially based in China, then moved to Japan shortly before the Chinese government restricted cryptocurrency companies.
Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive of Binance, was sentenced to four months in prison on Tuesday. The founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange had pleaded guilty to violations of US anti-money laundering and sanctions laws last year.
Investors withdrew as much as $3 billion from Binance on Tuesday, according to blockchain analytics firm Nansen, as a deluge of negative headlines about the cryptocurrency industry rattled users of the world's largest exchange.
Does Binance US Report to the IRS? Yes, Binance US is required to report cryptocurrency transactions that reach a certain threshold to the IRS. The IRS is working to enforce compliance and accurate reporting of cryptocurrency-related income and transactions.
If you have questions, feedback or complaints you can contact us via our Customer Support team at https://www.binance.com/en/chat. These Terms may specify contact details for particular notices. This address is not monitored for those notices.
For the third year running, Changpeng Zhao, founder and former CEO of crypto exchange Binance, is crypto's wealthiest person. Despite pleading guilty to U.S. money laundering charges in November, CZ, as he's known, is now worth an estimated $33 billion, up from $10.5 billion last year.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, is believed to own the most bitcoins, with estimates suggesting over 1 million BTC mined in the early days of the network.
Changpeng Zhao, who goes by CZ, is the founder and former CEO of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The Chinese-Canadian coder cut his teeth building high-frequency trading systems for Wall Street's flash boys. Zhao founded Binance in 2017, raising $15 million through an initial coin offering.
Changpeng Zhao, known as "CZ," founded Binance, which rapidly grew to be the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by daily trading volume. With a net worth estimated at $39.6 billion as of March 2024, Zhao's story reflects the fast-paced and unpredictable world of cryptocurrency.
Changpeng Zhao, known as "CZ," founded Binance, which rapidly grew to be the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by daily trading volume. With a net worth estimated at $39.6 billion as of March 2024, Zhao's story reflects the fast-paced and unpredictable world of cryptocurrency.
CZ holds a Canadian passport and is also a citizen of the United Arab Emirates. Yi is the mother of at least two of CZ's three children, although she has denied that they are currently romantic partners.
Binance allows users to trade both crypto-crypto, as well as crypto-fiat. This means that users can trade cryptocurrencies and fiat money, interchangeably. If you don't already own some cryptocurrency, then you'll need to buy some with fiat money, first, before you can start trading.
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