DIGIVESTASI - Zhao Changpeng is finally in jail. After the Binance founder pleaded guilty to money laundering, the judge sentenced him to four months in prison. On Tuesday (30/4/2024) local time, Judge Richard Jones read the verdict against Zhao Changpeng in court in Seattle, USA.

"We had the financial capacity and human resources to make sure we complied, but we didn't," Jones said, according to CNBC International. 
The man, who is often abbreviated as CZ, received a lighter sentence than the prosecutor's demands. US prosecutors had previously asked the judge to sentence him to three years in prison. 

CZ's lawyer asked the judge to only give him five months probation. 
"We apologize. We believe the first step in taking responsibility is admitting our mistakes. We have failed to implement an anti-money laundering program." "I now understand how serious the mistake was," CZ told the judge at the hearing, Reuters reports.  

Zhao has pleaded guilty and surrendered to US law enforcement since November 2023. Under the agreement, CZ must resign as CEO of Binance and pay a fine. 

US authorities have been investigating Binance for years. Mr. Chao knowingly violated anti-money laundering laws by authorizing Binance to process financial transactions related to criminal activity, both between US citizens and transactions involving persons in jurisdictions subject to US government sanctions.  Binance was fined $4.3 billion and Zhao was fined $50 million. 

In addition to dealing with federal prosecutors, Binance also had to defend itself from allegations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that it misappropriated customer assets and operated an unlicensed exchange. 

The sentence handed down to Zhao Changpeng is much lighter than the 25-year sentence handed down to Sam Bankman Freed, founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

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