Binance Holdings (BHL), the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, will pay $4.3 billion for violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws in a settlement approved by a U.S. judge on Friday.
U.S. District Judge Richard Jones in Washington state approved a plea deal with federal prosecutors that calls for Binance to pay a $1.8 billion fine and forfeit $2.5 billion.
“Binance…
Binance Holdings (BHL), the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, will pay $4.3 billion for violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws in a settlement approved by a U.S. judge on Friday.
U.S. District Judge Richard Jones in Washington state approved a plea deal with federal prosecutors that calls for Binance to pay a $1.8 billion fine and forfeit $2.5 billion.
“Binance has profited from the U.S. financial system without following the rules, and as a result, criminals have used the exchange to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen funds and illegal proceeds,” the government said in the sentencing memorandum. I moved it,” he said.
The company said the fine was the largest ever imposed against a money services provider and was “commensurate with the seriousness of Binance's criminal conduct.”
As part of the settlement reached in November, Binance CEO Changpeng Chao pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws and agreed to resign.
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Binance was founded in 2017 and cornered much of the crypto trading market, turning Zhao into a billionaire.
Binance, which operates crypto exchanges and provides other services around the world, has suffered a severe blow since the crypto market collapsed and regulators began investigating the legality of its business. There is.
Binance was founded in China, but following Beijing's crackdown on the cryptocurrency sector, Zhao moved his operations elsewhere overseas.
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This volatile industry exploded in 2021, with a range of complex products and celebrity endorsements helping it reach a valuation of over $3 trillion in 2022.
However, a series of scandals, including the collapse of the FTX exchange and criminal charges against executives, led to a loss of public trust and investors withdrew their funds.
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