The chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) says former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao will face jail time in connection with recent charges.
In a new CNBC interview, CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam says he expects Zhao to spend time in prison after pleading guilty to failing to comply with adequate anti-money laundering protocols for Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.
Says Behnam,
“We have more than $4 billion in criminal and civil fines. The CFTC, Justice [Department] and The Treasury. Obviously there’s the criminal side, so he goes to jail.
The ruling will take some time. So I think we work together in law enforcement, both criminal and civil [and] we feel like we have a bad actor here and it sends a clear message.”
In a recent lawsuit, the government argued that Zhao, a citizen of two other countries, posed a “serious flight risk” after his guilty pleas.
“As a non-U.S. citizen of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) with significant wealth outside the United States, minimal ties to the United States, and a residence in a country without an extradition treaty with the United States, Zhao poses a serious risk of flight and [it is] requested that he be required to remain in the continental United States pending sentencing.
Ultimately, Judge Richard A. Jones ruled that Zhao must remain in the US until his sentencing, scheduled for February 24 next year.
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Featured image: Shutterstock/Tithi Luadthong