Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who is currently serving a four-month prison sentence, will be a free man by the end of the month.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons website, Zhao – also known as inmate 88087-510 –
will be released from custody on Sept. 29, 118 days after reporting to a low-security prison, Lompoc II, on California’s central coast. He spent three months in Lompoc II before being moved to a halfway house in San Pedro, California in late August.
Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison in April, five months after he pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to set up an adequate know-your-customer (KYC) program at Binance. As part of his guilty plea, Zhao also agreed to pay a $50 million fine and step down as CEO of the crypto exchange.
After Zhao stepped down, Richard Teng – a former regulator in both Abu Dhabi and Singapore – was appointed CEO of Binance. In addition to the charges against Zhao, Binance was also criminally charged with violating U.S. sanctions and money transmitting laws and agreed to pay $4.3 million to settle the allegations.
At an estimated net worth of $25.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires’ Index, Zhao is believed to be the richest person to ever go to prison in the U.S.