Crypto platform Binance reached an agreement in the ongoing criminal investigation in the USA. CEO Changpeng Zhao resigned as part of a settlement with the US Department of Justice and the platform must pay $4 billion.
Zhao pleaded guilty in a Seattle court to violating several laws, including money laundering. With the agreement, Binance does not have to stop its operations.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Binance and Zhao in June. The crypto platform has been accused of, among other things, unregistered securities trading.
Zhao publicly stated that American customers will no longer be able to trade through Binance.com, but only through Binance.us. But wealthy U.S. customers were still able to secretly trade on Binance.com, according to the SEC. The SEC also said the platform secretly transferred billions of dollars from investors to another company owned by Zhao.
‘Very seriously’
Binance left the Netherlands in July after De Nederlandsche Bank fined the company €3.3 million. The Cayman Islands-based platform was offering crypto services without a license in the Netherlands. DNB stated that Binance’s circumvention of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act is very serious. All existing customers were taken over by Dutch rival Coinmerce.
Binance is not the first crypto company to be in trouble. For example, FTX and Celsius had gone bankrupt before.
Source: NOS

Jason Jack is an experienced technology journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in computer science and engineering, he has a deep understanding of the latest technology trends and developments. He writes about a wide range of technology topics, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, software development, and cybersecurity.