Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, received a four-month prison sentence for breaking American money laundering regulations.

After years of investigations by US authorities, former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao was found guilty on 30 April in a Seattle courtroom of breaking US money laundering rules and was sentenced to four months in prison.

Judge Richard Jones rejected the Department of Justice's (DOJ) suggestion to raise the sentencing guideline at the hearing, stating that there was no proof that Zhao had been made aware of any illegal activity at Binance.

The former executive's crypto empire and billions of dollars in fines may seem like a small punishment to U.S. investigators, who have been looking into the case.

The sentence is for four months for the past six years. From 2018 to 2024, Binance was targeted by several probes involving the DOJ, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), among other agencies.

Cointelegraph’s timeline of the events highlights the crackdown on Binance over the past few years. Here’s what happened:

February 2018: Department of Justice begins to investigate Binance

U.S. authorities have been after Binance since 2018, when the Department of Justice reportedly launched an investigation into the exchange's compliance with U.S. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws and sanctions.

At the time, prosecutors were investigating charges related to unlicensed money transmission, money laundering conspiracy and criminal sanctions violations.

In March 2021, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also probed whether the company offered crypto derivatives to U.S. customers without registering with the agency.

February 2022: Binance Holdings and Binance.US under investigation by the SEC

The U.S. SEC launched an investigation into the connection between Binance.US and trading firms Sigma Chain AG and Merit Peak, looking into how the firms disclosed potential links to users.

In June 2022, the SEC reportedly initiated another investigation, this time into Binance Holdings’ 2017 initial coin offering (ICO) over potential unregistered securities sales.

March 2023: SEC, CFTC accuses Binance and CZ of several violations

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, compliance chief Samuel Lim, and the exchange were sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for seven counts of trading irregularities and market manipulation. At the time, Binance had a daily trading volume of over $8.5 billion.

Zhao rejected the allegations, arguing that the crypto exchange did “not trade for profit or ‘manipulate’ the market under any circumstances.”

May 2023: DOJ targets Binance once again

The DOJ launched another investigation over Binance in May, focusing on potential violations of U.S. sanctions by allowing Russians to access the cryptocurrency exchange.

The probe was part of a broader investigation by the DOJ’s national security division.

Although Binance restricted its services in Russia following sanctions imposed in April 2022, it continued to operate in the country until September.

June 2023: Binance and CZ are sued by the SEC

The SEC filed charges against Binance and CZ for violations of securities law, focusing on issues like inadequate market oversight and potential wash trading.

Among the allegations behind the charges are claims that Binance failed to restrict U.S. investors from using Binance.com and that Binance.

US engaged in wash trading through its “primary undisclosed ‘market making’ trading firm Sigma Chain,” a company owned by CZ.

In addition, the suit claimed that funds from Binance and Binance.US were commingled into an account controlled by CZ-associated Merit Peak Limited.

Binance.US’s U.S. activities were drastically reduced after the SEC obtained an emergency restraining order against the exchange.

July 2023: Binance leadership departs

As investigations surrounding the crypto exchange intensified, senior executives on Binance.

US team left the company, starting a wave of departures across Binance’s firms that continued for months, resulting in at least ten key executives leaving the company.

August 2023: DOJ fears bank run on Binance

As the DOJ considered fraud charges against Binance, authorities expressed concern about the possibility of a bank run affecting consumers.

At the time, the DOJ was reportedly considering alternatives to criminal charges, such as fines or non-prosecution agreements, to mitigate harm to customers.

September 2023: Binance.US cuts staff, CEO resigns

Binance.US laid off a third of its workforce — about 100 people — and CEO Shroder also departed last September.

Furthermore, Binance's lack of cooperation during the court's discovery process was a complaint made by the SEC.

The parent firm of Binance.US allegedly gave unclear screenshots and unsigned, undated documentation, according to the regulator.

November 2023: CZ and Binance face charges

CZ's resignation as CEO after a $4.3 billion deal with US authorities marked a significant turning point.

Penalties for infractions such as not keeping up a functional anti-money laundering programme were part of the settlement. At Binance, Richard Teng assumed the role of CEO.

Zhao entered a guilty plea to a single felony charge as part of an agreement to resolve civil and criminal charges. "I have to own up to my mistakes and accept responsibility," CZ declared. "This is what's best for myself, Binance, and our community.