After offering to put up his entire network of $4.5 Billion dollars as collateral for bail in order to visit his family in China before beginning his jail sentence, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao found out he’ll only be spending 4 months in prison!
As a reminder CZ pleaded guilty to money laundering on Nov. 21, 2023 and is currently free on a $175 million bond in the United States, but he isn’t allowed to leave the country. He was facing up to 18 months in jail, but the rich rarely ever serve long jail terms; I’m guessing due to their expensive lawyers and probably a healthy amount of greasing the palms before sentencing.
What did CZ do to get in so much trouble? When he pleaded guilty last year to a money-laundering violation he acknowledged that his company Binance allowed terrorist groups and other criminals to have access to its platform.
Woops!
So now he’ll go away for 4 months, which I believe he could still get out early for “good behavior”, so the length of his incarceration could be less than half that time.
At his sentencing, Judge Jones said to Changpeng Zhao “Your conduct does not warrant a 36-month sentence”, and called him a “a dedicated family man and a giving person”, then went on to praise his “staggering accomplishment” in building Binance.
Anyone else find it a little odd that the judge, sentencing him for admitting to money laundering and allowing terrorists and criminals to use his Binance crypto platform, would go so easy on him and praise him?
Yea, the DA might want to look into that.
