Binance holdings pleaded guilty, agrees to pay over $4 billion to US authorities
- DOJ says by Nancy chief Changpeng Zhao has pleaded guilty to criminal charges
- Charges involve violations of Bank secrecy act, failure to register as a money-transmitting business and others
- Resolution will include a 5 year monitoring ship for Binance
As part of his guilty plea, Zhao (Or CZ as he is called) agreed to pay a $50 million fine and will also step down from his role as chief executive of the company. The government is seeking an 18-month prison sentence for Mr. Zhao, the maximum suggested under federal guidelines.
“From the very beginning, Zhao and other finance executives engaged in a deliberate and calculated effort to profit from the U.S. market without implementing the controls that are required by U.S. law,”
On Monday, the S.E.C. sued Kraken, another crypto exchange, accusing it of operating without proper registration and commingling customer deposits with its own corporate assets.
It drives me crazy that this type of nefarious activity continues and will continue. Regulators will constantly be behind the crooks. Yes, they will catch some, but others will skate free. $4 billion sounds like a lot but is it? What price tag do you put on drug dealers, terrorists or other crooks who used Binance to launder money from their illicit activity?
Meanwhile Binance names Richard Teng as new CEO. Business as usual.
CZ meanwhile X’d. What a crock.