Richard Teng: CZ Will Never Be Able to Return as Binance CEO, But Still Has Control Binance
Binance CEO Richard Teng confirmed that Changpeng Zhao will never be allowed to hold a management position at the exchange again, instead of the 3-year ban as previously reported.
In an interview with Axios, Binance CEO Richard Teng made comments about his predecessor, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who is about to complete his prison sentence in the US at the end of September.
Specifically, Mr. Teng affirmed that CZ has been banned by Binance from holding management positions at the exchange with permanent effect, instead of the 3-year period as agreed to resign and plead guilty before the US Department of Justice in November 2023.
Mr. Teng did not clarify whether this was Binance's internal policy or a revised clause from the agreement with US authorities, but said that Changpeng Zhao will still be Binance's largest shareholder.
Mr. Teng explained:
“Of course, CZ, as the largest shareholder, will continue to own all shareholder rights. As an investor, he can look at the company's business operations, from which he can propose replacements or appointments to the board of directors or even a new CEO.”
Thus, according to Mr. Teng, although Changpeng Zhao is not allowed to hold a management position at Binance and run the exchange's daily operations in a "legitimate" manner, this character still retains great influence and control over Binance.
According to Forbes statistics, CZ still owns up to 90% of Binance shares, with assets of up to 61 billion USD, making him the richest billionaire in the cryptocurrency industry.
As reported by Coin68, the former CEO of Binance began serving a 4-month prison sentence in early June for negligence in management, leading to money laundering activities on Binance. This is part of the settlement agreement between Binance and the US Department of Justice in November 2023, according to which the exchange agreed to pay a record fine of $ 4.3 billion and forced Changpeng Zhao to resign. The agreement at that time also mentioned that Mr. Zhao had to be prosecuted by the US government and banned from holding a management position at Binance within the next 3 years.
Currently, CZ has been sent to a rehabilitation facility to prepare for his release from prison at the end of September. Many investors in the cryptocurrency community believe that this is an event to look forward to, which can somehow revive the market after a series of poor performances in the past 3 months.
Nearly 1 year since being taken over by Mr. Richard Teng, Binance affirmed that it has made many changes to meet the compliance requirements of many countries' governments, revealing that the company's financial situation is still strong and there is no need to conduct an IPO.
