The founder of cryptocurrency firm Binance was sentenced to four months in US prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to money laundering charges, in the most high-profile crypto case since Sam Bankman-Fried was jailed.
Changpeng Zhao, a Canadian, resigned from his post at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform late last year as part of a deal with US authorities.
According to investigations by two Treasury agencies, Binance failed to prevent transactions by movements such as the Islamic State group, al-Qaeda or the armed wing of Hamas.
Zhao pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws and Binance agreed in February to pay $4.3 billion to settle charges.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to impose three years behind bars for a crime that typically results in probation, according to a court filing.
Binance runs crypto exchanges and provides other services around the world, but it took a severe hit when crypto markets collapsed and regulators began probing the legality of its business.
