Thu, December 19

Binance CEO Pleads Guilty, Settles DOJ Case at $4.3 Billion

Prosecutors Seek to Bar Binance Ex-CEO CZ from Leaving U.S Exchange News
  • As part of the plea agreement, CZ would be able to keep his majority share in Binance.
  • The WSJ reports that CZ plans to enter guilty pleas on many offenses brought by the DOJ.

According to a WSJ article, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has decided to resign ahead of the DOJ’s announcement that it had settled with the cryptocurrency exchange for $4.3 billion.

The WSJ reports that CZ plans to enter guilty pleas on many offenses brought by the Department of Justice. The publication said that on November 21, he would be present in a Seattle federal court to make a plea. Also, he is expected to enter a guilty plea on “a criminal charge” pertaining to the violation of Anti-Money Laundering regulations as per WSJ.

As part of the plea agreement, CZ would be able to keep his majority share in Binance. Moreover, he probably won’t go to prison, but he can’t be an executive there either.

Potential Settlement Underway

Moreover, the U.S SEC, which accused Binance of acting as an unregistered securities and clearing platform, will not be involved in the proposed settlement accord. Many assumptions about the potential settlement are being made at this time. It is still unclear whether Binance would pay the entire amount of $4 billion that the DOJ requested or a new amount is agreed upon.

The exchange has been reportedly under investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) since 2018 for possible violations of KYC and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations regarding the access of sanctioned persons to the platform.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $36,863, down 1.86% as per data from CoinMarketCap. Moreover, Binance’s BNB token is down 6.12% in the last 24 hours. Investors and traders will be watching this ongoing settlement closely since the conclusion will undoubtedly affect the cryptocurrency market overall.

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Disclaimer: This news is unverified as we are yet to have an official word from CZ or Binance.

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