Key Points

• Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, is waiting for his sentence today.
• The potential sentence could be a three-year prison term for Zhao, which surpasses federal guidelines.

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, is awaiting his sentencing today, on April 30. The sentencing might include a three-year prison sentence for Zhao, which would surpass the federal guidelines.

Zhao's admission of guilt from last November for violating US Department of Justice anti-money laundering regulations is heavily influencing the decision on his sentencing.

Prosecutors are advocating for a harsher punishment due to Zhao's lack of compliance. With an estimated personal wealth of $43 billion, Zhao could potentially be the wealthiest person ever to be incarcerated in a US federal prison if convicted, as reported by Bloomberg.

Zhao pleaded guilty and resigned as the CEO of Binance in November as part of a $4.3 billion settlement agreement to resolve related allegations.

Zhao's Defense's Position

His legal team argues that Zhao should not face any prison time, highlighting his willingness to travel from the UAE to the US to plead guilty, despite the lack of an extradition treaty between the two countries.

They also mentioned that no one has previously been sentenced to imprisonment for similar Bank Secrecy Act violations.

Zhao's defense team has been resistant, stating in a new submission that he was never directly informed about suspicious transactions on Binance allegedly related to criminal funds.

Zhao recently expressed his desire to take responsibility and move forward in his life when he pleaded guilty in court.

He was clear that he intended to reappear. Otherwise, he would not have been present at the time.

Binance reportedly processed over 1.5 million cryptocurrency transactions totaling around $900 million that violated US sanctions.

Zhao agreed to a plea deal and a personal fine of $50 million.

Regarding the suspicious trading activities, Zhao's defense recently clarified that despite a reference to a conversation where Binance's chief compliance officer cautioned Zhao about users from sanctioned countries on the platform, Binance, as a non-US entity, was not barred from having users from US-sanctioned countries on its platform.

Recently, Zhao relinquished voting control in the Dubai entity to enable Binance to obtain a full crypto license there.