Per The New York Times:
“ Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, pleaded guilty to money laundering violations, a stunning blow to the most powerful and influential figure in the global crypto industry.
Binance itself also pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines and restitution to the government, according to federal authorities. Under the agreement, Binance also reached settlements with the Treasury Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which have also been investigating the company.
As part of his guilty plea, Mr. Zhao 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, according to senior Justice Department officials.
Binance, as part of its own plea deal with federal prosecutors, will accept the appointment of a government monitor to oversee the business. Mr. Zhao is barred from any involvement in Binance until three years after the monitor is appointed.
Mr. Zhao and a representative for Binance entered the guilty pleas in federal court in Seattle. Mr. Zhao’s lawyers could not be reached for comment. A Binance spokesman did not respond to request for comment.
For the relatively young and fast-growing crypto world, the guilty pleas from Binance and Mr. Zhao were a monumental development. At times, Binance has processed two-thirds of all digital currency trades, making it a vital power broker and intermediary in the crypto world. Long believed to be the richest man in crypto, Mr. Zhao is the most influential figure in the industry, with more than 8.5 million followers on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The guilty pleas completed something of a one-two punch by the Justice Department. Earlier this month, the crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud at a criminal trial arising from the collapse of his FTX crypto exchange.
“The message here should be clear,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Using new technology to break the law does not make you a disruptor, it makes you a criminal.””
The rest of the article can be found Here.
Personally speaking I’m rather livid about the DOJ using Binance once again (this time seemingly dealing the kill-shot) as an example to the rest of the industry. I’m unsure if the “violations” committed warrant such a massive response from the courts, as it’s not particularly clarified there was evidence of terror groups or who (if anyone) in particular was caught using Binance for money laundering. Binance has been more than cooperative historically in working with The West and Israel in particular regarding helping the respective governments bring wanted criminals to light and/or identifying & freezing their funds held on the platform.
Thoughts?
