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. 

Related: Court unseals indictments against Binance and CZ, detailing expected guilty pleas

According to the indictment against CZ filed under seal on Nov. 14, the Binance CEO faced one charge for failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at the crypto exchange, violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Court records concerning charges against Binance CZ had been kept under seal from Nov. 14 to Nov. 21 following motions from prosecutors in agreement with both parties.

The settlement between U.S. officials and Binance largely concluded many of the civil and criminal investigations into the exchange going back months. The crypto exchange still has a pending civil case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which charged Binance, Binance.US, and CZ for securities law violations in June.

Magazine: US enforcement agencies are turning up the heat on crypto-related crime

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.