Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, has been sentenced to four months in prison for violating anti-money laundering laws.
Zhao was sentenced by the U.S. District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle on Tuesday.
According to reports, he pleaded guilty to the violations, which the prosecutors had sought to punish with up to three years in jail.
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As part of his plea deal, Zhao has agreed to step down from his CEO position at Binance and pay a fine of $50 million for violating sanctions related to users in Iran, Cuba, Syria, and Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
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He was also fined for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.
Checks revealed that the move was part of the Justice Department’s efforts to curb misconduct in the crypto industry.
