United States v. Zhao is the criminal case against Changpeng Zhao arising from the compliance failures of Binance. [4] This page separates what official documents state from what parties say and what media report; allegations are not findings.
Plea (2023-11-21)
The Department of Justice said that Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering programme in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act and resigned as CEO. Binance pleaded guilty in a coordinated resolution and agreed to pay US$4,316,126,163 in total (see Binance). [4]
According to court filings as described by the Department, Zhao admitted knowing that Binance served U.S. users and therefore had to register with FinCEN and maintain an effective AML programme; the Department also said he told staff it was "better to ask for forgiveness than permission", putting growth ahead of compliance. [4] These are the Department's statements, not independent findings.
Personal fine
Zhao was fined US$50 million personally, as reported consistently by Reuters and TechCrunch. [2][5]
Source discrepancy. The blurb of Zhao's book on Amazon states "$150 million". [6] This site follows the Department of Justice, Reuters and TechCrunch figure of US$50 million pending a reading of the judgment itself.
Sentence (2024-04-30)
Judge Richard Jones of the U.S. District Court in Seattle sentenced Zhao to four months in prison, far below the three years requested by prosecutors and below the upper end of the sentencing guidelines range (1.5 years). [2][3] According to Wikipedia, citing CNBC, he served in FCI Lompoc in California from about 31 May 2024. [7] [verification needed]
Release (2024-09-27)
TechCrunch reported that Zhao was released after completing the four-month term. [5] The description of his book states that after release he was briefly detained by the Department of Homeland Security for a visa overstay; this is the party's own account and awaits independent confirmation. [6] [verification needed]