Crypto giant Binance has agreed to resolve money laundering charges in the US and pay more than $4 billion in penalties. CEO Changpeng Zhao will also step down.
Binance and CEO Changpeng «CZ» Zhao plead guilty to laundering charges by the US Department of Justice, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Office of Foreign Assets Control and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to a statement. The deal involves $4.3 billion in penalties, including a $150 million payment by Zhao to CTFC.
«Binance’s activities undermined the foundation of safe and sound financial markets by intentionally avoiding basic, fundamental obligations that apply to exchanges, all the while collecting approximately $1.35 billion in trading fees from US customers,» said CFTC chairman Rostin Behnam.
The proposed settlement and remedies are subject to court approval.
Chief Compliance Officer
In addition, Binance compliance officer and Singaporean Samuel Lim has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle charges of «violating the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and willfully aiding and abetting Binance’s numerous violations of the CEA».
«Chief compliance officers should take note of today’s proposed order: If your compliance program is merely ‘for show’ and is intentionally ineffective, the CFTC will hold you accountable for facilitating illegal conduct,» said CFTC director of enforcement Ian McGinley in a separate statement.
New CEO
Shortly after, Binance issued a statement announcing the appointment of Richard Teng as the new CEO, succeeding Zhao. Teng joined the crypto exchange as CEO of Binance Singapore in August 2021 before taking on the role of overseeing markets outside of the US.
«[Teng] is an experienced executive with over three decades of financial services and regulatory experience,» the statement noted.
