CZ Set to Be Released From Prison on September 29
The Binance founder is currently living in a halfway house in San Pedro, California.
Updated Sep 16, 2024, 6:58 p.m. Published Sep 16, 2024, 6:55 p.m.
Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who is currently serving a four-month prison sentence, will be a free man by the end of the month.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website, Zhao – also known as inmate 88087-510 –
will be released from custody on Sept. 29, 118 days after reporting to a low-security prison, Lompoc II, on California’s central coast. He spent three months in Lompoc II before being moved to a halfway house in San Pedro, California in late August.
Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison in April, five months after he pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to set up an adequate know-your-customer (KYC) program at Binance. As part of his guilty plea, Zhao also agreed to pay a $50 million fine and step down as CEO of the crypto exchange.
After Zhao stepped down, Richard Teng – a former regulator in both Abu Dhabi and Singapore – was appointed CEO of Binance. In addition to the charges against Zhao, Binance was also criminally charged with violating U.S. sanctions and money transmitting laws and agreed to pay $4.3 million to settle the allegations.
Read more: New Binance CEO Sees No Need for IPO As He Plots 100-Year Strategy for the Crypto Exchange
At an estimated net worth of $25.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires’ Index, Zhao is believed to be the richest person to ever go to prison in the U.S.
Cheyenne Ligon
On the news team at CoinDesk, Cheyenne focuses on crypto regulation and crime. Cheyenne is originally from Houston, Texas. She studied political science at Tulane University in Louisiana. In December 2021, she graduated from CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, where she focused on business and economics reporting. She has no significant crypto holdings.
