- Net worth
- $33.0B (source)
- Crimes
- regulatory, money laundering
- Convicted of
- Failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program
- Original sentence
- Four months' imprisonment; $50,000,000 fine (April 30, 2024)
- Time served
- Four months
Aevozer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Background
Changpeng Zhao (known as "CZ") is the founder and former CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The Case
In November 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance. He was sentenced to four months in prison and a $50 million fine in April 2024. Binance paid $4.3 billion in penalties—one of the largest corporate resolutions in U.S. history.
Binance’s failures harmed the financial system and the public. The platform deliberately avoided registering as a money services business and skipped proper “know your customer” checks, making it easy for criminals to move stolen and illicit funds. According to the Department of Justice, Binance processed transactions tied to ransomware, darknet market sales, and child sexual abuse material; it failed to report over 100,000 suspicious transactions linked to designated terrorist organizations. From 2018 to 2022 it processed more than 1.1 million transactions worth at least $898 million between U.S. users and users in sanctioned Iran. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that Binance “made it easy for criminals to move their stolen funds and illicit proceeds.” The conduct undermined anti–money laundering safeguards and damaged the integrity of the global financial system.
The Pardon
On October 21, 2025, President Trump granted Zhao a full pardon.