The US Department of Justice has suggested a 36-month prison sentence and a $50 million fine for Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance.
Zhao’s Mitigation Team
In response, Zhao’s mitigation team claims that his incarceration would be unusual, noting no previous instances of imprisonment in similar cases.
Instead, they requested probation, which may include house confinement at his Abu Dhabi villa.
Zhao is currently free on bond in the United States, and his sentencing is scheduled for April 30.
DOJ seeking 36 months for Zhao?
Zhao faced a potential 18-month prison sentence as part of his plea deal.
However, the DOJ argued in its April 23 complaint that Zhao’s violation was severe and warranted a stiffer penalty.
The authorities emphasised that Zhao and Binance intentionally targeted US customers as part of their expansion strategy, ignoring local rules….
The prosecutors claimed that Zhao’s conduct were deliberate, motivated by a determined corporate choice to violate US laws in the pursuit of expansion and personal profit.
The DOJ noted Zhao’s failure to establish proper anti-money laundering procedures on the Binance platform, which allowed criminal monies to flow undetected.
DOJ argued:
“[Zhao] chose not to comply with fundamental U.S. anti-money-laundering (AML) requirements; he chose not to implement and maintain an effective know-your-customer (KYC) system.
Which prevented effective transaction monitoring and allowed suspicious and criminal users to transact through Binance.”
DOJ argued that his sentencing should be used to send a message to the world and deter others from building “fortunes and business empires by breaking US laws.”
Zhao’s Response
Zhao’s lawyers stated that the struggling founder “deeply regrets his offence, and he has shown exceptional acceptance of responsibility and remediation.”
Lawyers noted:
“[Zhao] is a first-time, non-violent offender who committed an offense with no intention to harm anyone.
He presents no risk of recidivism. He has appeared in this country voluntarily to accept responsibility.”
As a result, the legal team asked the court to convict him to parole in keeping with history.
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