Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive of Binance, was sentenced on Tuesday to four months in prison after pleading guilty to violating US money-laundering laws at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle, who rejected prosecutors’ request that the 47-year-old Zhao serve a three-year term.Once considered the most powerful person in the cryptocurrency industry, Zhao, known as “CZ,” is the second major crypto boss to be sentenced to prison after Sam Bankman-Fried. In March, Bankman-Fried received 25 years behind bars for stealing eight billion dollars from customers of his now-bankrupt FTX exchange.Zhao pleaded guilty in November to one count of failing to take required anti-money-laundering measures and stepped down as Binance agreed to pay $4.3bn to settle related allegations.US officials said Zhao deliberately looked the other way as people conducted transactions that supported child sex abuse, the illegal drug trade and “terrorism”.“I failed here,” Zhao said before US District Judge Richard A Jones issued the sentence. “I deeply regret my failure, and I am sorry.”“I believe the first step of taking responsibility is to fully recognise the mistakes. Here I failed to implement an adequate anti-money-laundering program … I realise now the seriousness of that mistake”, he said.Prosecutors had told the judge a tough sentence would send a clear signal to other would-be criminals.“We are not suggesting that Mr. Zhao is Sam Bankman-Fried or that he is a monster,” prosecutor Kevin Mosley said. But Zhao’s conduct, he said, “wasn’t a mistake. This wasn’t a […]

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has appealed his conviction and 25-year prison sentence for stealing billions of dollars from customers of his defunct cryptocurrency exchange.Bankman-Fried was convicted in November on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy in what US authorities described as one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.The 32-year-old former billionaire was the poster boy for cryptocurrency,  gracing magazine covers and enjoying audiences with lawmakers, before the speculator collapse of FTX in 2022 amid a deluge of customer withdrawals.Bankman-Fried’s lawyer Marc Mukasey had announced his intention to appeal the verdict and sentence during his sentencing hearing on March 28.During his sentencing, Bankman-Fried expressed regret over his handling of FTX, saying he was “sorry about what happened at every stage”.“It haunts me every day,” he said. “I made a series of bad decisions.”US District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan said that Bankman-Fried had not shown genuine remorse or fully accepted responsibility and there was a “risk that this man will be in position to do something very bad in the future”.Prosecutors had asked for a prison sentence of 40-50 years, while Bankman-Fried’s lawyers had requested the judge to impose a six-year term.Bankman-Fried’s appeal could take years and would need to convince a higher court that Kaplan had made significant errors during the trial that infringed on his legal rights.US federal courts rarely side with criminal defendants attempting to overturn lower court decisions, granting fewer than 10 percent of appeals.

Former crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in United States federal prison for stealing $8bn from customers of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded.US District Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down the sentence at a Manhattan court hearing on Thursday after rejecting Bankman-Fried’s claim that FTX customers did not actually lose money and accusing him of lying during his trial testimony.A jury found Bankman-Fried, 32, guilty on November 2 on seven fraud and conspiracy counts stemming from FTX’s 2022 collapse in what prosecutors have called one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.“He knew it was wrong,” Kaplan said of Bankman-Fried before handing down the sentence. “He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught. But he is not going to admit a thing, as is his right.”Bankman-Fried stood with his hands clasped before him as Kaplan read the sentence.Kaplan said the sentence reflected “that there is a risk that this man will be in position to do something very bad in the future. And it’s not a trivial risk at all.”Prior to sentencing, Bankman-Fried stood and apologised. “A lot of people feel really let down. And they were very let down. And I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about what happened at every stage,” he said.“My useful life is probably over. It’s been over for a while now, from before my arrest.”Sam Bankman-Fried, centre left, is escorted out of Magistrate Court following a […]

Former crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried is due to be sentenced for his role in the 2022 collapse of FTX, once one of the world’s most popular platforms for trading digital currency.Bankman-Fried, 32, was convicted last November of fraud and conspiracy by a jury that found that he illegally used money from FTX depositors to cover his expenses, which included purchasing luxury properties in the Caribbean, alleged bribes to Chinese officials and private planes.He will return to a New York court on Thursday.Prosecutors have recommended a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years.“The defendant victimised tens of thousands of people and companies, across several continents, over a period of multiple years,” prosecutors told Judge Lewis Kaplan in a court filing.“He stole money from customers who entrusted it to him; he lied to investors; he sent fabricated documents to lenders; he pumped millions of dollars in illegal donations into our political system; and he bribed foreign officials. Each of these crimes is worthy of a lengthy sentence,” they added. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers, friends and family have urged leniency, saying he is unlikely to reoffend. They also say FTX’s investors have largely recovered their funds – a claim disputed by bankruptcy lawyers, FTX and its creditors.“Mr Bankman-Fried continues to live a life of delusion,” wrote John Ray, who was appointed CEO of FTX after its collapse and had to clean up the bankrupt company. “The ‘business’ he left on November 11, 2022 was neither solvent nor safe.”Two weeks ago, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer Marc Mukasey slammed […]

An executive of cryptocurrency exchange Binance has escaped custody in Nigeria, where a criminal investigation has been launched against the platform accused of being used for money laundering, according to authorities.Nadeem Anjarwalla, the regional manager for Binance in Africa, “fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport”, the office of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser said in a statement on Monday.Nigeria is Africa’s largest crypto economy in terms of trade volume, with many citizens using crypto as the country experiences surging inflation and a declining local currency.“The personnel responsible for the custody of the suspect have been arrested, and a thorough investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to his escape from lawful detention,” Zakari Mijinyawa, spokesman for the office of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, said in a statement.The Abuja-based Premium Times newspaper, which broke the news of Anjarwalla’s escape, reported that he fled from a guest house in the capital city after guards allowed him entry to a nearby mosque for prayers. The Binance executive, who holds both British and Kenyan citizenship, was detained along with another colleague on February 26 when they arrived in Nigeria following the crackdown on the company.Tigran Gambaryan, Anjwaralla’s colleague who is a US citizen, remains in custody.The Binance executives were due to appear in court on April 4.Binance ended trading with the Nigerian naira currency on its platform in early March after authorities accused it of being used for money laundering and “terrorism” financing.Authorities have not provided evidence for the accusations publicly.Nigeria’s tax agency, […]

United States prosecutors have chosen not to pursue a second trial for FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who has already been found guilty of fraud and money laundering, and proceed instead to sentencing. Prosecutors said in a letter filed in a New York court on Friday that pursuing a second trial for the disgraced tycoon would only serve to delay the case against him, which is already strong enough. “Given that practical reality, and the strong public interest in a prompt resolution of this matter, the Government intends to proceed to sentencing on the counts for which the defendant was convicted at trial,” prosecutors said in the letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over Bankman-Fried’s first criminal trial last year. In November, a jury found Bankman-Fried guilty of seven counts of fraud, embezzlement and criminal conspiracy, among other charges. The 31-year-old was accused of using billions of dollars from customer deposits on FTX to cover losses at his hedge fund, pay off loans and buy luxury real estate, among other large personal expenses. At the trial, he had admitted to making “mistakes” that ended up hurting people, but pleaded not guilty to the charges as he claimed he never meant to steal. Billions of dollars were lost after Bankman-Fried’s crimes came to light in 2022, something that also contributed to deepening a crypto market downturn that had started earlier that year. Federal prosecutors have previously described the case as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history”. […]