As part of the agreement he signed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the former CEO of the crypto exchange Binance, pleaded guilty. The arrangement spares the company he founded from a lawsuit that could destroy it. As for him, he will still have to endure the rigors of the law. The lawyers responsible for his defense have just proposed an option for sanctioning their client that is, to say the least, unprecedented.
An option to sanction the ex-boss of Binance bright…
What will be the fate of Changpeng Zhao (CZ) at the end of the hearing which will sanction the wrongdoings of which he is guilty as CEO of Binance? The question is on everyone’s lips, sparking much speculation among crypto analysts.
It is difficult to predict at the moment. Even if prosecutors requested 18 months of imprisonment, against the now ex-CEO of Binance. Not much compared to the 110 years of criminal imprisonment that Sam Bankman-Fried, the Mozart of crypto, risks.
Hearing that their client is determined about his fate, the CZ lawyers want to go all out, to get him the least restrictive sentence possible. This is the meaning of the sentencing proposal that they disclosed on Friday November 24 about him.
It is roughlya defense strategy, centered, on the one hand, on the detention of CZ, but under house arrest. The approach also relies on the personal accountability of the accused. As ingenious as it is, the idea does not lack panache.
Which is based on Changpeng Zhao’s criminal record
We might as well remove any doubt right away: Changpeng Zhao has no criminal record! And this is a major asset for the former CEO of the crypto firm Binance. An advantage that his lawyers want to exploit to get him out of trouble.
At least that’s what the ambivalent sanction proposal they disclosed underlies. Their idea being to say that the latter is not a repeat offender, that he is on his first offence.
In addition, his lawyers intend to argue that he enjoys a certain reputation characterized by the virginity of his criminal record. Added to this his influence in the crypto ecosystem and his willingness to face the repercussions of his actions, CZ should benefit from the leniency of the courts. As such, the latter must, at the very least, study the possibility of deviating, in the present case, from traditional sentencing standards. An option which, if chosen by the judges, should allow the former CEO of Binance to avoid prison. The whole question is whether the judges will be favorable to this approach.
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