The U.S. Department of Justice asked CZ to serve three years in prison, believing that an increase in the sentence can reflect the seriousness of the crime.
The U.S. Department of Justice issued a judgment memorandum on the evening of Tuesday (23rd) local time, stating that Binance founder and former CEO CZ(CZ) violated federal sanctions due to his cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Binance US (Binance.com). , and the anti-money laundering provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act, prosecutors asked the court for a 36-month sentence.
The memorandum pointed out that although CZ maximum sentence was only 18 months according to the plea agreement in November last year (2023), considering the way the exchange operates in the United States and the scale and influence of Binance’s operations in the United States, it is considered that 18 months "It is not appropriate to adequately punish the damage caused to the national security of the United States and for misconduct of this scale." Therefore, it is believed that increasing the sentence to twice the sentence is "an appropriate option that reflects the seriousness of the crime."
The document also reiterated the arguments made when the Department of Justice first prosecuted Binance and CZ last year, stating that CZ could not implement an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program at Binance and allow illegal activities to conduct various operations on the exchange, including providing mixing services. Hide the source and ownership of cryptocurrency, receive illegal proceeds from extortion and fraud through various software, and transfer funds from Dark Web transactions, etc.
Prosecutors said that CZ's responsibility lies in making business decisions that violate U.S. laws, adopting a "Westward Pioneer" model, and deliberately ignoring transactions between U.S. users and individuals in sanctioned areas. They believe that this move is to attract users and expand The best way to do business.
Defense attorneys aggressively fought for a suspended sentence, arguing the charges were narrow and unheard of in the past.
CZ’s defense team submitted a firm rebuttal to the sentencing recommendation proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice, arguing that Changpeng CZ did not facilitate illegal financial transactions on Binance, and that the suspicious transactions only accounted for a very insignificant part of Binance’s overall transaction volume, which is difficult to prove. CZ deliberately participated.
In addition, the defense lawyer also pointed out that CZ did not evade his responsibility. In November last year (2023), CZ pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations in the United States, and agreed to pay a fine of US$50 million, give up the right to appeal against an 18-month sentence, and resigned as CEO.
In addition, Binance also agreed to pay US$4.32 billion, including a criminal fine of US$1.81 billion and compensation of US$2.51 billion, one of the largest corporate fines in history. CZ has also actively corrected past oversights and further strengthened Binance’s compliance applications and taken relevant measures.
CZ’s defense team also stated that in other similar anti-money laundering-related cases that also violated the Bank Secrecy Act, no defendant has ever been sentenced to jail. Coupled with CZ's attitude and the possibility of re-offending is very low. They asked the court for a suspended sentence, with possible plans including house arrest at CZ's home in Abu Dhabi.
CZ apologized for his past decisions, and a group of relatives and friends submitted 161 letters to the court to support CZ
On Tuesday (23rd) local time in the United States, in a letter submitted by CZ to the judge in charge of the case, the defense team apologized for the "bad decisions" he made in the past and was willing to take "full responsibility" for his actions.
In addition to personal letters, CZ's relatives and friends submitted a total of 161 letters to the court to support CZ , including He Yi , the co-founder of Binance and current friend of CZ , CZ's wife Yang Weiqing, CZ's mother, children, and work partners Wait, I hope the judge can be lenient.
CZ currently remains free after paying a $1.75 billion bond, but his previous request to return to Dubai was rejected by the judge, and a sentencing hearing will be held on April 30.
