Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder of Binance, was released from US detention on Friday after serving his four-month sentence in a low-security correctional facility.
CZ’s punishment stemmed from a federal investigation that revealed Binance had failed to prevent extensive criminal activities on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The former CEO pleaded guilty to federal charges in November for failing to implement necessary AML controls at Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of daily trading volumes, according to a US Department of Justice statement dated November 21. He also resigned as Binance’s CEO.
CZ is the wealthiest person to ever serve prison time in the United States, with an estimated net worth of $60 billion.
His release was two days ahead of schedule due to customary practice when release dates fall on weekends.
Zhao, recognised for transforming Binance into the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange since its inception in Shanghai in 2017, was detained at a low-security facility in Long Beach, Calif.
He reported to the institution in June after agreeing to pay a $50 million personal punishment as part of a larger settlement with US authorities. In a separate transaction, Binance paid $4.3 billion in fines to satisfy charges of anti-money laundering and sanctions violations.
“We are delighted that CZ will be home with his family,” a spokesperson for Binance told Cointelegraph, adding:
“While he is not managing or operating Binance, we are excited to see what he does next. Since last year, Binance has continued to thrive under the leadership of our current team, surpassing 230 million users globally.”
Newsng gathered that the settlement forbids Zhao from “managing or operating” the company, though the specifics are unclear.
While initial reports suggested a three-year ban, Binance CEO Richard Teng confirmed to Axios that Zhao has received a lifetime ban from day-to-day administration. However, he underlined that Zhao retains full shareholder rights, including the authority to propose board members and terminate executives.
We earlier reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has widened its legal case against Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, by adding several more digital tokens to its list of assets it considers securities.
