The founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange has been sentenced to four months in prison in the United States for facilitating money laundering on his platform.
Changpeng Zhao entered a guilty plea to charges of breaking US money laundering regulations and resigned from Binance in November.
Following a US probe, Binance was forced to pay $4.3 billion (£3.4 billion) for helping users avoid penalties.
The former CEO of Binance was the target of a three-year sentence from the prosecution.
According to the Verge, Zhao prioritised “Binance’s growth and profits over compliance with US laws and regulations” at a sentencing hearing on Tuesday in Seattle, according to Judge Richard Jones.
The US financial system and national security were put at risk by Binance and Zhao’s “wilful violations” of US regulations, according to US officials in November.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen claimed that “Binance turned a blind eye to its legal obligations in the pursuit of profit.”
“Its wilful failures allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers through its platform.”
According to Forbes magazine, Zhao, also known by his nickname “CZ,” is worth $33 billion.
The company is registered in the Cayman Islands, and Nigerian officials are actively looking into it as well.
In early April, a Nigerian court heard a denial of money laundering allegations from Tigran Gambarayan, the Binance employee in charge of financial crime compliance.
Coworker Nadeem Anjarwalla, who was arrested in Nigeria in February with Mr. Gambarayan, managed to get out of detention in March.
Sam Bankman-Fried was recently sentenced to 25 years in jail for fraud at his rival cryptocurrency company, FTX. Zhao’s sentencing follows shortly after.
Often referred to as the “crypto king,” Bankman-Fried was discovered to have embezzled billions from clients prior to the company’s demise.
According to the Justice Department, during its investigation into Binance, it was discovered that the exchange made money transfers for criminals simple.
