US prosecutors filed a petition to the district court for the western district of Washington, asking to sentence Zhao Changpeng, the founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, to 36 months in prison. The defendant pleaded guilty to money laundering and will be sentenced on 30 April.
Prosecutors said the sentence is necessary because of the defendant's intent to violate US law and its consequences. The federal sentencing guidelines set a maximum sentence of 18 months for Zhao, who has agreed not to appeal his maximum 18-month sentence. He is currently out on a US$175 million bond but is required to remain in the US.
Binance is accused of failing to report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions involving Hamas, Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. The platform was also accused of supporting the sale of child sexual abuse resources and acting as a recipient of money in a number of extortion attempts. Zhao has agreed to pay a US$50 million fine and to cease participating in Binance's business. Binance also agreed to a US$4.32 billion fine.
