Binance Founder Sent To Jail As Nigeria Awaits Extradition Of Africa Manager

Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former chief executive of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, has been sentenced to four months in jail after he pleaded guilty to a money-laundering violation.

He was sentenced in U.S District Court in Seattle, as all the efforts of his lawyers to put him on probation without any prison time crashed.

Judge Richard A. Jones, who oversaw the case, said “Your conduct does not warrant a 36-month sentence.”

He called Mr. Zhao “a dedicated family man and a giving person” and praised his “staggering accomplishment” in building Binance.

Mr. Zhao, 47, in a brief remark to the court said “I failed here,” “I deeply regret my failure, and I’m sorry.”

David Yaffe-Bellany’s report from the court on April 30, 2024 stated that “Mr. Zhao pleaded guilty to only a single criminal count.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria awaits the extradition of Nadeem Anjarwalla, the Africa regional manager for Binance.

Recall that on March 22, 2024, Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager and his colleague Tigran Gambaryan, escaped from a guest house in Abuja, he reportedly fled Nigeria with a passport from the East African country. He was led by the guards to a nearby mosque for prayers in the spirit of the Ramadan fast.

Vice president of the Interpol (Africa) executive committee, Garba Umar has assured that he will be extradited.