The co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Binance will spend the next four months in prison in the United States for violating money laundering laws.
A US court in Seattle imposed the sentence Changpeng Zhao after he pleaded guilty to the charge, marking a significant legal development at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
With a personal fortune estimated at $43 billion, Zhao’s sentencing positions him as the wealthiest prisoner in the US and potentially in the world. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle, who rejected prosecutors’ request for a three-year term for the 47-year-old Zhao.
This sentencing adds to the string of legal challenges facing the cryptocurrency industry.
Zhao joins Sam Bankman-Fried as one of the major figures in crypto to be sentenced to prison. In March, Bankman-Fried received a 25-year sentence for embezzling $8 billion from customers of his now-defunct FTX exchange.
Zhao’s guilty plea in November to failing to implement required anti-money laundering measures led to his resignation as Binance’s CEO.
Recall that Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion to settle related allegations, marking a significant legal and financial consequence for the exchange.
