Washington:
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was released from a California prison on Friday, Bloomberg News reported, citing a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson.
Former CEO Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Reuters could not immediately reach the Bureau of Prisons for comment.
Prosecutors had said Binance employed a model that welcomed criminals and failed to report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions with designated terrorist groups, including Hamas, al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
They also said Zhao’s exchange supported the sale of child sexual abuse material and received a large portion of the ransomware proceeds.
Binance agreed to a $4.32 billion fine, and Zhao paid a $50 million criminal fine plus $50 million to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
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