Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who goes by CZ, and Tron founder Justin Sun strongly denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming Zhao agreed to provide evidence against Sun as part of his 2023 plea deal with U.S. authorities.
Citing unnamed sources, the Journal reported Friday that Zhao, who served four months in prison after pleading guilty to money laundering violations, had committed to testifying against Sun in exchange for leniency.
A day before the WSJ article was published, Zhao posted about how a certain “baseless hit piece” about him was in the works.
“WSJ is really TRYING here. They seem to have forgotten who went to prison and who didn’t. People who become gov witnesses don’t go to prison,” Zhao tweeted Saturday, suggesting someone “paid WSJ employees” to “smear” him.
Sun, who faces separate SEC charges, echoed the denial. Sun called Zhao his mentor and “close friend,” and acknowledged how Zhao has “played a crucial role” in his “entrepreneurial journey.”
The WSJ piece appeared amid reports that Binance executives met with U.S. Treasury officials last month to discuss removing a U.S. monitor overseeing the exchange’s compliance with anti-money-laundering laws.
Heads or tails
Binance has reportedly engaged in talks to list USD1, a stablecoin minted by World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance venture backed by President Trump’s family, where Sun is an investor.
These discussions allegedly began before the Treasury meetings, suggesting a potential conflict of interest.
A Treasury spokesperson confirmed with the Journal that the Binance meeting occurred, but was said to have characterized it as “one of dozens” the agency has held with crypto industry execs and representatives.
Counter to those claims, Binance maintains that the current monitoring requirements create “inefficient and costly burdens” while insisting any changes to its compliance systems represent “fine-tuning” rather than “loosening of controls.”
The journal reported that Binance was also reportedly seeking a presidential pardon for its former CEO. Zhao denied those allegations.
Last week, the DOJ paused corporate monitorships and disbanded its crypto unit, which had been instrumental in the 2023 case against Binance.
Neither the Department of Justice nor the White House had made public statements on the alleged cooperation agreement or potential pardon considerations.
The White House did not immediately return Decrypt’s request for comments. The DOJ declined to comment.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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