The founder and CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, agreed to plead guilty to money laundering violations and to step down from the world's largest crypto exchange as part of a sweeping settlement with U.S. law enforcement and financial regulators.
CZ, as he's widely known, will also pay a $50 million fine, while Binance will pay $4.3 billion in fines as part of the deal. The settlement will allow Binance to continue operating.
The announcement from the Department of Justice, Treasury Department and Commodity Futures Trading Commission comes less than a month after federal prosecutors convinced a jury to find CZ's one-time rival, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, guilty of seven criminal charges, including fraud and money laundering.
"Binance became the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange in part because of the crimes it committed — now it is paying one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in a statement.
https://www.npr.org/2023/11/21/1214466415/binance-cz-changpeng-zhao-pleads-guilty-settlement-crypto-doj
The founder and CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, agreed to plead guilty to money laundering violations and to step down from the world's largest crypto exchange as part of a sweeping settlement with U.S. law enforcement and financial regulators.
CZ, as he's widely known, will also pay a $50 million fine, while Binance will pay $4.3 billion in fines as part of the deal. The settlement will allow Binance to continue operating.
The announcement from the Department of Justice, Treasury Department and Commodity Futures Trading Commission comes less than a month after federal prosecutors convinced a jury to find CZ's one-time rival, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, guilty of seven criminal charges, including fraud and money laundering.
"Binance became the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange in part because of the crimes it committed — now it is paying one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in a statement.