The founder and former chief executive of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange platform, has reportedly had his criminal sentencing postponed until April.
According to a new CNBC report, Changpeng Zhao’s sentencing from charges brought forth by the U.S. Department of Justice, which claimed that the executive failed to maintain adequate anti-money laundering protocols, will be delayed at least two more months.
The court record gives no official reason for the delay, according to the report.
Zhao, a Canadian national and a resident of the United Arab Emirates, is currently in the US, free on a $175 million bond. Due to his level of wealth, the former CEO is considered a flight risk by U.S. District Judge Richard Jones.
When Zhao pleaded guilty in November, he agreed to step down from Binance’s CEO post, in addition to paying a $50 million fine. Binance paid $4.3 million in restitution fees.
Last December, The Chair of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said CZ would face prison time over the charges in a CNBC interview.
Speaking in a CNBC interview, CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam said that he expects Zhao to spend time in prison after pleading guilty.
Said Behnam,
“We have over $4 billion in fines on the criminal and civil side. The CFTC, Justice [Department] and The Treasury. Obviously, there’s the criminal side so he will be going to jail.
The sentencing will be taking a bit of time. So I think law enforcement, both criminal and civil, we work together [and] we feel like we got a bad actor here and it’s sending a clear message.”
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