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The US authorities released the founder of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, after he was imprisoned in federal custody on charges related to failures that allowed cybercriminals and terrorist groups to freely trade cryptocurrencies on its largest exchanges in the world..
Zhao, 47, pleaded guilty in November to charges of failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance, an exchange that was launched in Shanghai in 2017 and has grown into a platform that handles trades worth trillions of dollars annually. Scott Taylor, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, confirmed his release from the facility in Long Beach, California. Zhao had surrendered himself to a facility designated for low-security prisoners in June to serve a four-month sentence, according to Bloomberg..
Zhao also agreed to pay a fine of $50 million from his personal funds. Meanwhile, Binance paid $4.3 billion in fines to settle a lawsuit related to a group of serious violations of laws related to anti-money laundering and sanctions. As part of the settlement agreement, Zhao resigned from the position of CEO of Binance, and was prohibited from assuming any executive role in the company..
Despite the turmoil, the trading platform remains one of the most important cryptocurrency exchanges. Zhao’s net worth is estimated at about $30 billion, according to Bloomberg Wealth estimates».
Before his sentencing, Zhao “announced” a new project called “Giggle Academy.” (Giggle Academy)a non-profit online educational platform. When he resigned last November, he indicated in a letter that he was also open to the idea of being a coach or advisor to new entrepreneurs.
