The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended that the founder and former chief executive of Binance, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, should spend three years in prison for his role in enabling the crypto exchange to violate federal sanctions and money laundering laws.

The DOJ’s attorneys stated this in a sentencing memo filed in court on Tuesday. The attorneys argued that Zhao should pay $50 million in addition to spending 36 months in prison.

This comes as one of the officials of the crypto trading platform, Tigran Gambaryan, is also facing trial on charges of tax evasion, money laundering, and foreign exchange contravention.

Zhao had pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act last November. However, his attorneys argued he should serve no jail time, citing the fine he paid and his “extraordinary acceptance of responsibility.” Instead, they suggested he be sentenced to probation, which could include home confinement at his home in Abu Dhabi.

The DOJ in the sentencing memorandum said:

“Given the magnitude of Zhao’s willful violation of U.S. law and its consequences, an above-Guidelines sentence of 36 months is warranted.

That sentence, together with the agreed $50 million fine, is sufficient but not greater than necessary to balance the relevant 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors and achieve the goals of sentencing.

“The Court should impose the unlawful-proceeds Guidelines enhancement The Court should impose the two-level enhancement in USSG 2S1.3(b)(1) because a preponderance of the evidence shows that Zhao knew or believed that at least some funds his company processed were proceeds of unlawful activity.”

Much of the filing echoes arguments made by the DOJ when it first announced charges against Binance and Zhao last year, pointing to how the exchange operated within the U.S.

The filing also looked at how the Sentencing Guidelines address Bank Secrecy Act violations, saying they “are not designed to adequately punish either misconduct on this scale or misconduct that harms U.S. national security.”

“The sentence in this case will not just send a message to Zhao but also to the world. Zhao reaped vast rewards for his violation of U.S. law, and the price of that violation must be significant to effectively punish Zhao for his criminal acts and to deter others who are tempted to build fortunes and business empires by breaking U.S. law,” the filing said.

The South African police have arrested eight Nigerians for allegedly attacking officers during a drug raid.

In a statement issued on Friday, the police said the suspects were arrested in the Northern Cape province.

The police said the suspects also damaged vehicles and other property.

“At the time of the arrest, police were tracing information of one of the Nigerian nationals being in possession of drugs,” the statement reads.

“While conducting this search, a large group of Nigerians attacked police. Police fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

“One suspect was arrested for illegal possession of drugs, and three suspects were arrested for public violence and detained at Kimberley Police Station.

“During processing, the suspects broke windows at the station. Additional charges of malicious damage to property were added.

“Another group of Nigerians later approached the Police Station and threatened to retaliate.

“The Operational Commander warned the group to disperse.

“However, upon dispersing, the group damaged police vehicles. Another four suspects were arrested for malicious damage to property.”

Koliswa Otola, police commissioner for the province, commended officers for the arrest of the suspects.

Operatives of the police Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in Lagos have arrested a driver for allegedly squeezing 15 children into a Volkswagen Passat car.

In a statement on Friday, Benjamin Hundeyin, the command’s spokesperson, confirmed the suspect’s arrest, adding that the vehicle was plying the Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge around 8 pm on Sunday when it was spotted and reported by concerned citizens.

“Upon intervention, the police noticed that the driver, who had been contracted to transport the children to a beach, had locked four of the children in the car trunk while 11 others were crammed together,” the statement reads.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that one child had collapsed earlier in the day due to similar transportation conditions but recovered after receiving medical attention.

“The children have since been released to their parents unhurt. Suspects would be charged to court.”

Adegoke Fayoade, Lagos police commissioner, commended residents of the state for swiftly reporting suspicious activities to the authorities.