Binance criminal settlement could include a $4 billion fine and CEO’s guilty plea
Binance owner and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has agreed to step down and plead guilty to breaking anti-money laundering laws, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Forbes. This comes as part of the major settlement the Department of Justice is expected to announce this afternoon, which will reportedly require Binance to fork over $4.3 billion in fines.
Even though Zhao can no longer assume an executive role at Binance, the WSJ reports the terms of the agreement will let Zhao keep his majority ownership of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Zhao is expected to enter his plea at a Seattle court on Tuesday, with sentencing to come at a later date. Richard Teng, Binance’s head of regional markets, is in the running to take Zhao’s place, according to Forbes.
The Securities and Exchange Commission first sued Binance and Zhao in June, accusing the crypto exchange of operating illegally in the US while defrauding investors. The agency also attempted to freeze Binance’s assets over claims the exchange engaged in “violative conduct” in “disregard of the laws of the United States.” Binance ultimately avoided the freeze by implementing a set of restrictions that prevents Binance and Zhao from having access to customer funds, among other things.
While the DOJ still hasn’t confirmed the terms of the settlement, the agency has announced it’s holding a press conference at 3PM ET to “announce separate but related cryptocurrency enforcement actions.” Binance is just one of the crypto empires the SEC has targeted following the collapse of FTX, as Coinbase is also facing a lawsuit.
Binance owner and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has agreed to step down and plead guilty to breaking anti-money laundering laws, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Forbes. This comes as part of the major settlement the Department of Justice is expected to announce this afternoon, which will…
Recent Posts
- How to watch France vs Ivory Coast: FREE streams, TV channels for World Cup 2026 warm-up
- Belkin’s new Joy-Con grips also boost the Switch 2’s battery life
- How to watch Spain vs Iraq: Free Streams & TV Channels for World Cup 2026 warm-up match
- TSMC struggles to keep up with AI demand: ‘We can only support so much’
- We’re giving away a Prime Day grab bag loaded with over $800 of free tech
Archives
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023