He will become the richest person to go to prison in the US

• The businessman pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws.

• The court handed down a sentence significantly less than what prosecutors proposed

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to violating antitrust laws. laundering of money U.S.A. The sentence was handed down Tuesday in Seattle by U.S. District Judge Richard Jones. The 47-year-old businessman was not immediately taken into custody, and he left the premises after the end of the hearing. It is not yet clear in which federal pre-trial detention center he will serve his sentence.

As Reuters points out, prosecutors requested a three-year prison sentence after believing the executive branch had launched a “Wild West” model that benefited members of terrorist groups and other criminals involved in cryptocurrency transactions. However, Judge Jones said the proposed sentence was inappropriate because it had not been proven that Zhao knew funds passing through the platform were linked to the crimes.

Changpeng Zhao will spend four months in prison

Today’s sentencing hearing marks the final chapter of a long-running trial that has centered on the world’s most used cryptocurrency exchange. The court concluded that Zhao delivered Binance Growth faced compliance with the regulations that financial institutions are subject to in the United States, so the platform was used for various illegal activities.

Between 2018 and 2022, Binance reportedly processed at least $800 million in transactions that violated US regulations. Some clients allegedly made unauthorized transactions with Iranian residents. It is also noted that the platform was used by Hamas, an organization designated as a terrorist organization by Washington, to raise money through Bitcoin. There has also been no shortage of computer crime operations such as ransomware.

It should be noted that the definition known today complements the previous agreement that Zhao reached with Justice. Businessman made payment 50 million dollars as a fine and resigned as CEO of Binance. The platform, for its part, pledged to pay a $4.3 billion fine and engage independent watchdogs to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering rules.

Before the verdict was announced, the businessman was at home in the United Arab Emirates, a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. The fact that he traveled to Seattle to appear in court may have helped avoid serious consequences, although it was not enough to receive the probation the defense requested. Zhao must serve his sentence in prison, although it is unclear how long.

The Binance founder was not taken into custody immediately after the verdict and was allowed to leave the premises. Now, according to the AP, his destination may be a federal prison. This may be because is not a US citizen (he was born in China and immigrated to Canada at the age of 12) and that he is a well-known person who has collaborated with American law enforcement agencies. The defense asked that consideration be given to the creation of the SeaTac Federal Detention Center.

If this finally happens, Zhao will become the richest person in history to be incarcerated in a US federal detention center. Despite the ups and downs of the cryptocurrency world, the businessman boasts a net worth of about $40 billion. In fact, at the time of this writing, he was ranked as the 38th richest person on the planet according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Images | Binance

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