Zhao pleads guilty and receives a four-month sentence before the Trump pardon
Zhao received a four-month sentence and $50 million personal fine; Binance separately entered a $4.3 billion corporate resolution.
Entities and roles
- Changpeng ZhaoBinance founder later pardoned by Trump
- Donald J. Trumpnetwork root
Relationships in this file
- Donald J. Trumplater Trump pardon recipientChangpeng Zhao
Money trail
penaltyBinance corporate resolution$4.3 billion - Committed by / source
- Binance Holdings Limited
- Committed to
- United States agencies
penaltyChangpeng Zhao personal criminal fine$50 million - Ordered from
- Changpeng Zhao
- Ordered to
- United States
Claims and evidence
- factconvicted
DOJ records show Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to causing Binance to fail to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program and was sentenced April 30, 2024 to four months and a $50 million fine; Binance's separate $4.3 billion corporate resolution is not attributed to Zhao personally. DOJ later records Trump's 2025 pardon.
- U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division: United States v. Binance Holdings Limited, d/b/a Binance.com
- U.S. Department of Justice: Clemency Grants by President Donald J. Trump, 2025 to PresentOctober 21, 2025 pardon row includes the sentence and offense