NEW YORK, May 1. /TASS/. The founder and former director of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, Changpeng Zhao, has been sentenced to four months in a US prison on charges of financial wrongdoing, Bloomberg reported.

Changpeng Zhao attended the court hearing in Seattle. Judge Richard Jones handed down a much lighter sentence than the three years sought by the prosecution. Defense lawyers had asked for probation.

Last November, US authorities ordered Binance to pay $4.3 billion for violating bank secrecy laws, engaging in money laundering, failing to obtain proper registration and evading sanctions. Changpeng Zhao also pleaded guilty to failing to implement an effective program to counter money laundering.