Binance Founder Bags Prison Sentence Amid Clampdown in Nigeria
- Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, was sentenced to a four-month prison sentence on Tuesday, April 30
- This came after the CBN recently denied affiliation with a viral report on the ban of cryptocurrency platforms like Kucoin, Bybit and others
- Sam Bankman-Fried, Zhao's previous opponent, was also recently sentenced to 25 years in prison for his involvement in a multibillion-dollar scam
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over three years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
The founder of the most popular cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Changpeng Zhao, admitted guilty to money-laundering charges last year and was given a four-month prison sentence on Tuesday, April 30.
Source: UGC
The term is significantly less than the three years that the prosecution had requested, having been handed down in a US federal court in Seattle.
Before the Tuesday sentence session, CNN reported that Zhao regretted his errors while serving as the CEO of Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange he established in 2017.
PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!
He said in a letter to the judge:
“Words cannot explain how deeply I regret my choices that resulted in me being before the court. Rest assured that it will never happen again.”
As part of a coordinated settlement last fall with the federal authorities, Binance committed to pay more than $4 billion in fines and other penalties.
The business acknowledged engaging in illicit money transmission, sanctions violations, and anti-money laundering activities.
According to Bloomberg, Zhao, 47, has a net worth of about $40 billion. He also agreed to resign as CEO and pay $200 million in fines.
Following a multiyear investigation, US authorities in November said Binance — the world's largest crypto exchange — allowed terrible actors on the platform, enabling transactions linked to child sex abuse, narcotics and terrorist financing.
Furthermore, the staff of Binance were fully aware that a mistake like this would attract criminals to the platform because there were no mechanisms in place to flag or report transactions for potential money laundering threats.
Zhao was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for his involvement in a multibillion-dollar scam through FTX, the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, before its collapse in the fall of 2022.
Sam Bankman-Fried, Zhao's previous opponent, received a similar term just over a month before Zhao's sentencing.
Here in Nigeria, the federal government charged Binance for failing to file tax returns, not paying company income tax (CIT), evading value-added tax (VAT), and aiding customer tax evasion.
Legit.ng reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria has disowned a letter purportedly addressed to deposit money banks, non-bank financial institutions, other financial institutions and the general public regarding the risk associated with cryptocurrencies.
The apex bank asked the public to disregard the claim in a post via its social media handle.
According to the content, members of the public and institutions are to stay away from crypto transactions of any sort as they are prohibited.
Tinubu moves to clampdown on crypto platforms
Legit.ng reported that on Friday, March 22, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu urged Nigerians to patronise made-in-Nigeria products and services to sustain the recent gains of the naira in the foreign exchange market.
President Tinubu believed the patronage of made-in-Nigeria products was vital to strengthening the naira and wanted citizens to buy goods produced in the country to make that happen.
As reported by Channels TV, the special adviser on media and publicity to the president, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed this in a press briefing with the State House correspondents on Friday.
PAY ATTENTION: Unlock the best of Legit.ng on Pinterest! Subscribe now and get your daily inspiration!
Source: Legit.ng
