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The Binance founders and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao is expected to be sentenced on April 30. He pleaded guilty for money laundering last year and he paid a fine of $50 million.

The sentence may likely be 3 years.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-cz-jail-36-months-us-prosecutors

Reports were talking about a maximum sentence of 18 months with no appeal, a year and a half in prison and he would walk free after admitting to violating US money laundering laws and paying fines. Prosecutors may try to increase this further to put more pressure on CZ, but in the end it seems that he will be imprisoned.

I feel like pleading guilty was his big mistake. There was no strong case against him in the first place. They probably pressured CZ into a guilty plea just to make an example of him.

this 50m is apart from that $4B. lol how could he see himself giggling another day. that's just one case. it will pile up when they find out more. and if CZ has to get out he needs to trade something to the court. 

so why is this case different from that laundering criminal case in which he paid the fine of $4B and this pleading guilty which is going to pay $50m and then jail time as well?  if he only knew it would end up this way, calling for that Hoover Max Extract Pressure-Pro, model sixty will be a better option.

The DOJ are pressing for 3 years to make an example of him, but it's still the judge's decision make the final verdict. If he gets 3 years, it's not the end of the world, he'll still be out. IMO, pleading guilty was the best decision. The US government had him by the balls. There are compelling evidence against CZ and Binance and there's no way he'd have escaped it. If he hasn't pleaded guilty, he'd be found guilty and definitely get a lengthy sentence.

I guess that his lawyer had advised him to just say that to have lesser jail time. Because if it's going to say that he's not guilty with it, it will be a longer process plus the jail time that might be longer than 3 years. Well, we'd see how the court will decide on that but even he ends up in jail, I'm sure that he's going to live like a boss there knowing that he's got a lot of money and other prisoners would treat him like a king there as well.

Money talks but on his case, it's gonna be hard for him if it's against the US government. But if it's just like the other institutions that had filed a case against him, it will be a different story.

I guess jailed here won't be literal. I don't think CZ will be sent to an actual jail. I think there are mitigating circumstances which might allow him to be placed in a possible house arrest. He admitted wrongdoing, in the first place. He was even restricted to the US and humbly complied. A huge fine was meted on him and Binance separately and he didn't resist and challenge it. I guess his submission and cooperation every step of the way will be noticed and appreciated.

I also think he can go to prison but it is possible that the time to spend in prison will not be up to 3 years. We thought Bankman Fried will be given up to 40 to 50 years in prison while some people said it is too short but he was sent to 25 years in jail. This can also be what will happen to CZ. And it is possible that the imprisonment time could have started since last year when he started the court case.


It is possible that he did all what he was accused of and his lawyer advised him to do what he did.

The mistake is that he traveled to the United States, after trying to manipulate FTX and refusing to buy it at the last minute, causing its bankruptcy and indirectly causing the bankruptcy of many investors. Therefore, traveling to the United States was not a wise move, especially with the allegations of money laundering that began to increase and that he runs an unregistered entity.
CZ's ambition is what landed him in prison.

People were comparing Changpeng Zhao to Elon Musk, that was funny.
Now it's clear that it costs 4.3 billion dollars to launder money in the USA, then you stay in jail for 3 years and you are out, walking in the sun in Miami. I know that he is guilty and it's probably good that he at least spends 3 years in jail but I don't understand why is his coin BNB rising? BNB is very bullish, went from 200 to 600 in very quickly. There is a news announced that he will face jail and BNB doesn't fall. It's also announced that it has recently been suid in Canada for securities law violations and Philippines SEC orders Apple and Google to remove Binance from their stores. BNB rises again, what the hell is Binance doing with it? I think Changpeng Zhao should spend more time in jail because he was always manipulating BNB.

Changpeng Zhao is no longer the CEO of Binance, he is the founder and in theory he cannot control Binance, so BNB will not react negatively to this CZ news. The reason for the growth of BNB price is Binance Launchpool Tokens, which are bought and staking with high APY in the hope of making a good profit. But all they do is pumping BNB, which distribute back to Launchpool investors.

Most of those looking for quick success end up in prison. It is unfortunate that this is the end of CZ, three years in prison. This is the price of the fame and quick success he achieved because the American government always pursues big personalities or services.

The positive thing about the news is that the impact of CZ on Crypto has ended. Previously, we used to find a negative reaction and a decline in the market with any news related to CZ or Binance, but now we see these news passing without any impact.

Surprise, surprise, Changpeng Zhao sentenced to four months in prison instead of 3 years (36 months). This is so ridiculous! As the US says, Binance, whose CEO was CZ, didn't report thousands of suspicious transactions that were designated with terrorist groups and it allowed the sale of child sexual abuse materials. I would expect life imprisonment for such a guy but holy moly, only 4 months for him. So, if you pay $4.32 billion penalty and $100 million on top of that, you can do whatever you want, you'll only have to spend 4 month in prison and then your sins are forgiven. What a shame, people spend life in prisons for things like smoking a weed and guys like him only spend 4 months.

Here is the source article: https://www.reuters.com/legal/binances-ceo-zhao-faces-sentencing-over-money-laundering-violations-2024-04-30/

I don't see why is that surprise as just because prosecution asked for 36 months doesn't mean that he will automatically get that sentence, especially after he pleaded guilty.


In many countries (like for example my country, Croatia) people like him wouldn't spend a single day in prison let alone few months.

Yeah but he looked suspiciously happy in that photo he shared, as if he made a deal with certain someone ;)

I am sure he won't be in regular prison with killers or worst kind of criminals, and if Roger Ver survived 10 months in prison than CZ can do it also.
Speaking about prisons, I hear that Finland have best conditions in the world, even sauna is provided for inmates, and rooms look more like in average hotel.
Most US prisons are not like that, and I hear Canada is also asking for CZ head.

Hm, I am not sure I know to which photo you are referring to.


Of course he gonna spend his time in a minimum security prison. I mean, I don't like the guy but I don't think it would be the right thing to lock him up with murderers and rapists. On the other hand, I wish prison introudce hard labor during prison time, I think that would be a much better approach.


Sounds similar to the way Horvatincic is serving his time.  :D

Man did so many wrong things, helped terrorists to launder millions of dollars and this is the punishment for him? If you live in the USA and declare slightly wrong income, you might face prison. In Germany, at least in Bavaria, police is very strict, you steal chocolates in a row from supermarket and you might go to prison for up to five years. I'm dead serious.

Why? Because of corruption? By the way this looks like a corruption, the difference is that stakes in the US are one of the highest.

A little spin-off. Did you see the image of Sam Bankman-Fried in prison (https://www.talkimg.com/images/2024/05/05/roIQo.jpeg)? I'll be glad if both of them (CZ) spend time together with these guys :) Sam is poor alone, he needs CZ with him.

Yes, Finland has the best conditions in the world. If I were a Finnish citizen, I would commit a crime :D Okay, I'm joking. Norway has good prisons too, almost the same as Finland and once I asked my Norwegian friend about this and she told me that it's because such prisons actually turn criminals into good people and when they come out of prison, they are good and educated citizens who bring 2x more back to the budget. To be honest, makes sense and statistically it works very well in both countries but not many people deserve this luxury.

Do tell me, how many years in prison did Deutsche Bank CEO got for laundering 10 billion dollars (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-mirrortrade-probe-idUSKBN15F1GT/)? Or they just paid the fine and went on with business as usual.  :P


Because people as rich as CZ rarely go to prison for stuff like this in vast majority of countries. As a matter of fact, I read somewhere that he is the richest man ever that will end up in prison serving time.

Yeah, it is obvious that cz and binance did so many things wrong, but all of this he pleaded guilty to, paid fines and also cooperated with the authorities, all of this contributed to the light sentence. We can discuss all we want that he deserved more, but this is what the judges thought was the appropriate verdict, even if money had a part to play in it, but it isn't the only factor as to why he got just 4 months in jail.

I will tell you this although it’s different in most countries but once you see an elite been fined first after committing a crime then know that he would be get lesser punishment than a Normal Citizen. For this case of CZ I think he might have a very good legal practitioners (he surely did) that actually knew that if he pleaded guilty early enough he would be getting a lesser sentence when court later gives his verdict. I had definitely wondered why he actually accepted guilt earlier and stepped down from his position. I think this less sentence was the reason why.

White collar crime pays. 4 months and a few billion in fines. Oh believe me, crime pays. I've always said it. Wear a suit and tie, don't piss of the wrong people (it's okay to rob the poor and working class, just not your other friends in suits). You'll squirrel enough away to make the (short) jail trip worthwhile.


I think the only reason he actually will serve jail time, as comfortable a prison as it'll end up being, is that he didn't have enough politician friends in the US.

That's for sure, especially in this day and age when you can easily lose bitcoin in a boating accident.  :D


Him being Chinese also probably didn't help.

Hahaha...I am just seeing this now, well, Changpeng Zhao has already been sentenced already, but I must say that I am not satisfied with the jail term handed to him. The 4-month jail term handed to him is too little and I think that regardless of whether he pleaded guilty or not, the 36 months (3 years) was supposed to be a more appropriate sentence in my opinion to be a deterrent for others like him. Before you close and open back your eyes the 4 months are over, this will never teach these rich guys any lesson.

They will continue the money laundry and illegal acts simply because they have money. This is also the reason why I keep asking myself whether the law is for the poor alone as the rich due to the money they have and their status in society always find their way around it to either escape justice or be served a minimal one.

Heh, yeah, it's not PC to say these things these days, but it surely didn't help. Neither did it help he isn't exactly loved by the CCP, either, given him scurrying off from HK to Japan in Binance's infancy.


Age old question, and there are plenty of outliers with the small guy winning for once, but the law, as long as it's politicised (which it is), can only favour the status quo. Of course, we get upheavals where the letter of the law crumbles and the status quo is replaced in bloody fashion, but the cycle only renews then.

We're all trying to be part of that, at least I realise it =D

All of you who expected that one of the richest persons in thr world (who also pleaded guilty) will gte a long term sentence over something like this is extremely naive. Tbh, I am surprised that he even got those 4 months, let alone 3 years as demanded by prosecution. 


Do you honestly believe that even 3 years in prison would be a real deterrent for someone not to engage in money laundering that can bring him billions of dollars?

There is no naivety here but a preaching of justice, and a show of the fact that the justice system is bad, at least in some cases like this. If a huge money could be laundered where terrorists, drug barons, and child and human traffickers are the end gainers, and the pusher of the money was caught and has such a reduced sentence. Such would never sit down well with someone like me, I don't know of you.

He should have even been forgiven with no jail term since that is what you seem to want.

Yes, it will be a deterrent for them. Maybe you should do the calculation of the 4 months they slammed on him x 10 + an extra 2 years or thereabout. If he spends a minimum of such in jail with hard labour at the same time, can you compare it with the luxuries of his home and the social life he would miss?

Of course, he can't be kept in jail forever, but one punishment outweighs the other, and hence the deterrence.

That's a very good one...The justice and equity preached are not equal. That's the world we live in.

Nope, but I am also not disappointed with 4 month prison sentence because I understand how things work in real life. Let me remind me you that is the richest person ever that will serve time in prison, so I see this as a win and not a loss. Especially since banks do this kind of stuff all the time and all they get is slap on the wrist.

I am trying to understand how these 4 month prison will affect him. Either he will return as a peaceful person and not try to engage in any activity that the government does not want, or he will go in the opposite direction. CZ does not seem like someone who gives up easily.

Of course, there will be a little bit of remorse, and I wonder if he will return to being the CEO of Binance anymore, even though he could still be the one cutting the shot indirectly. I suspect that he will do that to further save his head from a lot of issues because if CZ is caught again as the person in charge, it will be tougher than it was this time, so I am sure he will try to play smart.

Canada just slammed Binance with a $4.38m fine for money laundering, and this could only mean that they are not so strong in Canada as they are in the US (Binance.US) where thorough means of regulation was put in place, or else, it would have been worse on the revelation that Canada would have found.

I wonder what is happening in the global branch of Binance where no one is there to question them. If it had been exposed, probably, CZ would have been given life... ;D

I don't think CZ is the kind of person who will get worse when jailed. I don't know much about the man but he impresses me as somebody who can easily survive locked in a room for 4 months. He seems a bit geeky. He can easily get by with books, a pen, and pieces of paper, things which a billionaire can easily obtain from inside the prison.

There's no point giving up, but it's probably not even a question. CZ seems to remain cool. I guess that's what being a Chinese businessman means. They don't quit.

He is no longer the CEO because of this accident but I think absolutely every human knows that it was a written script and the new CEO is just a puppet of CZ. That's how they deal with these situations. For example, politicians in my country buy penthouses and mansions on their family members' names, and it looks like they own nothing on paper but everyone knows that they own. I was expecting that everyone would know that the new CEO is just a puppet and CZ stands behind the scenes and that people would dump BNB, that's why I opened a short position on futures but I was wrong. Even though BTC price declines and BNB still stands strong, the BNB/BTC pair is increasing in favour of BNB. People feel very bullish about this coin and don't want to learn from mistakes, FTX accident was not a good lesson.

For the next 3 years, our beloved Binance will be under FRA surveillance
Source - Cointelegraph (https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-exchange-binance-monitor-forensic-risk-alliance-plea-deal)