- Having posted a bail of $175 million, the founder of Binance is now in the United States.
- Additionally, CZ was accused by the US authorities of willfully violating US laws.
U.S prosecutors submitted a court filing alleging that Binance founder Changpeng Zhao violated anti-money laundering rules (AML) and recommended a 36-month jail sentence for Zhao. The most recent information is that on April 30, Zhao, who resigned as Binance head in November of last year, would be sentenced.
A maximum of eighteen months in jail is what CZ should face according to federal sentencing guidelines. No hearing up to that point would allegedly be challenged by Zhao and his legal team. Having posted a bail of $175 million, the founder of Binance is now in the United States.
Willful Violation of U.S Laws
Nevertheless, the US prosecution argued that a 36-month sentence over guidelines was justified at the hearing in the US district court for the western district of Washington, considering the seriousness and effects of Zhao’s intentional violation of US law.
Additionally, CZ was accused by the US authorities of willfully violating US laws. As part of Binance’s growth plan, U.S. authorities claim that Zhao and Binance intentionally targeted users in the United States. They ran the business for a long time knowing that this strategy would put Binance in breach of U.S. regulations, yet they nevertheless did it.
The importance of ignoring U.S. restrictions to Binance’s success and development was even admitted by Zhao himself. The prosecutors pointed out in the complaint that he bragged about how following U.S. law would have curtailed Binance’s expansion and earnings during the previous two years, including cash gained from the network effect.
U.S prosecutors claim that Zhao’s willful disobedience to U.S. law was not accidental. Rather, it was a strategic decision driven by his desire to attract consumers, grow his firm, and profit himself.
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