According to A Bloomberg ReportChangpeng Zhao (CZ), co-founder and former CEO of Binance, was released from a US prison on Friday, September 27. CZ, sentenced in April 2024 to four months in prison, was originally supposed to regain his freedom on Sunday, September 29.
As Bitcoinist reports, federal guidelines allow inmates to be released early if their official release date falls on a weekend. “The Bureau of Prisons may release an inmate whose release date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday on the last preceding weekday,” reads a policy statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Why was CZ in prison for four months?
In November 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering program as CEO of Binance, the world’s largest exchange. After Binance agreed to a $4.3 billion corporate settlement, its former CEO was also charged with a $50 million personal penalty.
As part of the agreement with the US Department of Justice, CZ resigned as CEO and will not hold any management position at the stock exchange in the future. Binance’s co-founder was replaced by Richard Teng, former chief global market regulator in Abu Dhabi.
In addition to pleading guilty to violating anti-money laundering guidelines, Zhao also pleaded guilty to illegal money transfer and sanctions violations. In justification of the verdict, prosecutors wrote:
Zhao knew that his decision not to implement an effective AML program would result in Binance facilitating transactions between U.S. users and users in Iran and other sanctioned countries and regions, in violation of U.S. law.
During CZ’s hearing, prosecutors asked the court to sentence the Binance co-founder to 36 months in prison to reflect the seriousness of the crime. However, Judge Richard Jones reduced the sentence to four months, saying there was no evidence that Zhao knew about illegal activity at his company.
What’s next for the Binance co-founder?
As mentioned earlier, CZ agreed to pay a fine of $50 million after pleading guilty to the charges against him. Nevertheless, the former CEO’s estate was little affected by the case as its novel value was unchanged is estimated at over $60 billion.
Time will tell what the Binance co-founder’s next venture will be, especially after he was banned from holding any management positions on the exchange. However, it is worth noting that Zhao he promised in his farewell message to remain a “passive investor and holder” of cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, CZ revealed plans to build an educational platform called Giggle Academy before the verdict. Giggle Academy’s goal is to make primary education free and accessible to disadvantaged children around the world.
BNB price rallies following CZ's release | Source: daily BNBUSDT chart on TradingView
Featured image from Binance, chart from TradingView