US officials announce $4.3B settlement with Binance, plea deal with CZ
Officials with the U.S. Justice Department, Treasury, and CFTC alleged Binance "lacked basic safeguards" to protect against sanctions and Changpeng Zhao committed criminal acts.
Officials with the United States Department of Justice announced that Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao will plead guilty to one felony charge as part of a settlement over criminal and civil cases with the exchange.
In a Nov. 21 press conference, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced CZ entered his plea in person in U.S. federal court despite residing outside the country. He added there would be a $4.3-billion settlement with Binance and CZ covering "civil regulatory enforcement actions" by government departments including the U.S. Treasury and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
According to Garland, Binance's policies allowed criminals involved in illicit activities to move "stolen funds" through the exchange. He alleged the exchange "pretended to comply" with U.S. federal laws by offering paths for certain users to access Binance despite their ties to illicit funds. The Attorney General said the exchange would be subject to monitoring and reporting requirements, and required to file suspicious activity reports for past transactions.
"Binance priortized its profits over the safety of the American people," said Garland. "Using new technology to break the law does not make you a disruptor — it makes you a criminal."
Follwing Garland, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Binance would pay more than $3 billion to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and roughly $1 billion to Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as part of the settlement.
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