(Reuters) – Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was released from a California correctional facility on Friday, Bloomberg News reported, citing a Bureau of Prisons spokesman.
Former CEO Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to violating U.S. money laundering laws at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Reuters could not immediately reach the Bureau of Prisons for comment.
Prosecutors said Binance adopted a model that welcomes criminals and failed to report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions with designated terrorist groups, including Hamas, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
They also said Zhao’s exchange supported the sale of child sexual exploitation material and received a huge 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.
