Changpeng Zhao is one of the most sought-after names in the global crypto industry. He is a crypto whale and his action in crypto investments has the potential to turn and transform the whole futures of cryptos.
Zhao, commonly referred to as ‘CZ’ is now to serve a 4-month sentence in federal prisons. His prison sentence judgment came because he as the founder and CEO of Binance, the world’s latest cryptocurrency exchange, failed to implement antimony laundering laws on the platform.
Subsequently, this has led to many illicit actors utilizing the platform for unlawful activities in terms of US Federal Laws. It has been around one week since his prison sentence judgment came out. Still, the crypto circles can not stop talking about this.
There are various opinions and views about the judgment. Here we are about to discover more details of his previous actions that have led to this imprisonment and what different people think about this.
The Court Episode
The crypto titan was sentenced to serve 4 months in prison on April 30, 2024, by the Seattle Federal Court. He was sentenced by Judge Richard Jones, US District Court.
Judge Jones in his ruling stated that wealth, power, and status do not make any person immune to prosecution or place them beyond the law.
In the previous November, Zhao pleaded guilty in front of the court by admitting that it was his failure that Binance lacked a well-designed anti-money laundering program.
Changpeng Zhao was born in China and moved to Canada in his early teens. Later he moved to Dubai. He arrived at the U.S. court in Seattle to plead guilty and has been staying in the US ever since as the law barred him from leaving the territory of the US until the final judgement.
He pointed out in the court that he has been away from his family for so long and he wishes to finish the prison imprisonment as soon as possible and join the back in Dubai.
His mother and sister had arrived at the court and were seated on the front row at the court while witnessing his prison sentence judgment.
The US prosecutors had proposed a three-year-long sentence against which CZ’s lawyers argued.
What Failed Changpeng Zhao?
His cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance did not have an adequate program that prevents money laundering and its platform. This has led many bad actors including terrorist groups and other criminals to use it without any restrictions.
The US government and financial enforcement bodies found that terrorist organizations including al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Hamas had freely conducted trades using Binance. The platform was also used for multiple terror fundraising activities.
The government memo states that between the years 2018 and 2022 around 1.1 million transactions took place on Binance which completely violated the US sanctions and all these transactions are around at least 898 million US dollars.
As per the latest record, Changpeng Zhao possesses a total net worth of around 40 billion US dollars. From this, he would pay 200 million US dollars in fines and Binance would pay 4 billion US dollars in fines and other penalties. Zhao also agreed to step down from the CEO position of Binance.
Zhao’s Reaction To Prison Sentence
Changpeng Zhao after the court episode proceeded to share a tweet on his official X account in which he said he would spend his time in prison and he would conclude that phase in his life to focus on the next chapter of life.
He ended the tweet by saying he would remain a passive investor in the crypto realm. Changpeng Zhao has already quoted his plans for an educational project on which he would like to focus.
U.S. Finance Law & Finance Enforcement Bodies V/S Crypto
It seems that the US government and its various departments along with the financial and law enforcement bodies have a strong grip over the crypto realm. These bodies have made it evident that they do not wish to kill crypto or push it down.
However, it has become very clear that crypto veterans, exchanges, and the whole realm are under the hawk’s eye of the government and its regulations. And also no one no matter how wealthy and powerful they may be, will be exempted from law and prosecution.
