Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was released from a California prison minutes ago.
Following the development, BNB price started to fluctuate.
Zhao, 47, was in federal custody following accusations of inadequate compliance measures that allegedly enabled cybercriminals and terrorist groups to use the exchange for illegal trading activities.
In November, Zhao was found guilty of failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering protocols at Binance, which launched in Shanghai in 2017 and quickly processed trillions of dollars in cryptocurrency transactions annually. Prison Bureau spokesman Scott Taylor confirmed that Zhao had been released from a halfway house in Long Beach, California. Zhao had served four months in a low-security facility after reporting to the court in June.
As part of the plea deal, Zhao agreed to pay a personal fine of $50 million. Binance also agreed to settle charges of violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws for $4.3 billion. Following the settlement, Zhao resigned as Binance CEO and was banned from holding executive positions at the company. Zhao’s personal net worth is still estimated to be around $30 billion, according to Bloomberg Wealth.
Binance is currently under the leadership of Richard Teng, the former chief regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market, while co-founder Yi He, the mother of Zhao’s three children, continues to play a key role in the company’s operations. In April, Binance announced the formation of its first board of directors, but has yet to establish a global headquarters and has maintained its identity as a decentralized “virtual” company.
