United States prosecutors proposed a 36-month prison term for the founder of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, in a court filing on Tuesday.
Reuters reported that’s Zhao’s plea of guilt to money laundering violations led to his sentencing scheduled for April 30 in Seattle.
Recall that last November, Zhao commonly known as CZ, resigned as Binance’s chief after both he and the exchange confessed to the violations, with the firm consenting to a fine of $4.32 billion.
“Given the magnitude of Zhao’s willful violation of US law and its consequences, an above-guidelines sentence of 36 months is warranted,” prosecutors told the court.
According to Reuters, federal sentencing guidelines cap Zhao’s potential prison sentence at 18 months, as he had agreed not to contest any sentence within that range.
Binance allegedly failed to report over 100,000 suspicious transactions involving designated terrorist organizations such as Hamas, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to US authorities.
According to prosecutors, Binance’s platform facilitated the trade of materials related to child sexual abuse and received a significant share of proceeds from ransomware activities.
Zhao, who founded Binance in 2017, agreed to pay $50 million and discontinue his association with the company.
Binance was penalized with a $1.8 billion criminal fine and instructed to provide $2.51 billion in restitution.
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