The founder of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, has been sentenced to four months in prison, thus becoming the world’s richest prisoner with a personal fortune estimated at $43 billion.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was sentenced by a Seattle court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to violations of United States anti-money laundering and sanctions laws last year.
A US judge handed down the four-month sentence despite prosecutors pushing for a three-year term, as the court took into account the “positive nature of Mr Zhao’s past behaviour.
His prison sentence marked a stunning downfall for the former boss of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
During his trial, the prosecutors revealed that Mr Zhao allowed fraudulent activities to happen because it was the “best way to attract users, build his company, and line his pockets.”
The US Government further stated that “Zhao bet that he would not get caught and that if he did, the consequences would not be as serious as the crime.”
In response, Mr Zhao’s lawyers argued he should not be sent to prison and stressed he was sorry for the harm caused by Binance.
Mr Zhao, however, apologised for his “mistakes” and confirmed that the company had been cooperating with the government’s investigations.
He promised that once freed, he planned to develop education technology for underprivileged children.
