The founder and CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, will step down and plead guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering laws. This comes as part of a $4 billion settlement to resolve a years-long probe into the world’s largest crypto exchange. The deal with the Justice Department involves resolving criminal charges for conducting an unlicensed money transmitter business, conspiracy, and breaching sanctions regulations engaging the company and its former Chief Compliance Officer, Samuel Lim.
The agreement also includes a staggering $1.81 billion payment within 15 months, along with a further $2.51 billion forfeiture as part of the deal with the Justice Department. Notably, Zhao will personally pay $50 million and is also banned from all involvement with Binance. The settlement comes after Binance has faced significant legal challenges in the United States and is reflective of ongoing efforts to crackdown on money laundering and illicit activities in the cryptocurrency space.
Binance’s former chief compliance officer Samuel Lim will also be charged as part of the settlement, and a source confirmed that Binance will also be required to remediate its lapses. The company has been under the Justice Department’s scrutiny since 2018, and the CFTC has also filed charges, alleging that Binance failed to implement an effective anti-money laundering program to detect and prevent terrorist financing.
