After former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in November last year, his sentence will be announced at the sentencing court hearing at the end of this month (4/30).On this occasion, CZ writes toThe judge in charge of the caseA letter.
(Recap:Volatility warning!Changpeng Zhao announced his sentencing on 4/30. Former New York prosecutor: Binance’s Hamas money laundering case may be detrimental to CZ )
(Background supplement:CZ revealed that the education project “Giggle Academy” is hiring! Jokingly responding to the community: Want to hire a meme expert? )
currencyBinance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) admitted to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws and other charges in November last year, resigned as Binance CEO, and paid $175 million to obtain bail. After months of waiting, his sentence is expected to be announced at the sentencing hearing at the end of this month (4/30).
CZ sends a letter of apology to the judge
Just before the trial, CZ In a letter to the judge in charge of the case, Richard A. Jones, he apologized for his “bad decision” and admitted to taking full responsibility for his actions.
I have no excuse for my failure to establish the necessary compliance controls at Binance…but I promise this will be my only encounter with the criminal justice system.
Looking to the future, he hopes to continue to support blockchain technology startups and youth growth.
161 letters of support from family, relatives and friends
In addition to CZ’s letter of apology, there were 161 letters of support from his family, friends and others, seeking leniency from the judge.
CZ’s sister, former Morgan Stanley managing director Jessica Zhao, said that although her brother made mistakes, he worked hard to help others in his life. At the same time, she mentioned the example of the FTX incident and emphasized that CZ ensured that Binance never abused any client funds.
He Yi, another Binance co-founder and mother of CZ’s three children, also wrote:
If the cryptocurrency industry is compared to the Wild West, then CZ is the guardian of this wilderness. “
Even the United States has yet to decide how to regulate and define the industry. As a founder who had never managed a company of this size, he was bound to encounter blind spots.
Changpeng Zhao’s children, Rachel and Ryan, who are studying at American universities, also provided anecdotes in support of their father and hoped that the judge should not define Zhao’s character through this incident alone.
One of the letters of support was from Tigran Gambaryan, the head of compliance at Binance’s Financial Crimes Department who is currently detained in relation to Binance’s dispute with Nigeria, in a letter he wrote before his arrest on January 1, 2024 wrote.
I acknowledge that CZ has made mistakes before, but I can attest that his integrity, business insights, and philanthropic actions have had a ripple effect that has impacted not only Binance’s corporate philosophy, but also positively impacted lives around the world.
Other letters of support came from Max S. Baucus, the former U.S. ambassador to China, Jeremy R. Cooperstock, a professor at McGill University, Sean Yang, a managing director at Morgan Stanley, and members of the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates.
CZ may be sentenced to 3 years in prison?
At the same time as CZ’s letter was issued, the U.S. Department of Justice argued in a sentencing memorandum filed on Tuesday local time that CZ should be sentenced to 36 months in prison and pay a $50 million fine after pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act in November last year. The document states:
The verdict in this case not only sends a message to Mr. Zhao, but also sends a message to the world. Mr. Zhao received huge rewards for violating U.S. laws, and the cost of such violations must be significant in order to effectively punish Mr. Zhao’s criminal behavior and deter those who Someone who tried to build wealth and a business empire by breaking American law.
CZ’s original plea agreement carried a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison. However, the Ministry of Justice stated in this document that “the scope and consequences of Zhao Changpeng’s misconduct are huge,” and therefore “it is appropriate to increase the penalty here.”
According to U.S. sentencing guidelines, the recommended sentence for Zhao Changpeng facing the charges is 12 to 18 months, but the judge has the power to impose a longer sentence.
The memo also criticized CZ for failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance, and illegal actors exploited the Binance exchange in various ways, including:
- Operate mixing services to hide the origin and ownership of cryptocurrencies
- Trading illegal proceeds from ransomware attacks
- Transferring Dark Web Proceeds, Exchange Hacks, and Various Internet-related Scams
 issued an apology letter before the trial, and 161 people pleaded with the judge. He Yi: He is the guardian of the crypto wilderness… | Dongzhu Dongzhu – the most influential blockchain news media){kind=link}