Executives from Binance, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, are reported to have informed their top market makers about a potential $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities before it was made public, according to a Bloomberg report published on December 1.
During an exclusive dinner held in Singapore in September, Binance traders were apparently given insight into a tentative agreement between the crypto exchange and U.S. officials, roughly two months ahead of the public announcement.
Some Binance executives allegedly reassured certain traders that the exchange had the financial capacity to cover the hefty $4.3 billion penalty and continue its operations.
Interestingly, Binance’s CEO at the time, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, was not present at the event.
Instead, Richard Teng, who took over from Zhao after the settlement, was reported to be mingling with the guests. A Binance spokesperson disputed the accuracy of the portrayal of the VIP event but did not specify which aspects were incorrect.
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In September, as per Richard Teng’s posts on X (formerly Twitter), the former head of regional markets was indeed in Singapore for various events, including the Token2049 conference, the Milken Institute Asia Summit, the Singapore Grand Prix for Formula 1, and several side events.
Additionally, Cointelegraph was scheduled to release an exclusive interview with the Binance CEO on December 3 at 6:00 pm UTC.
As part of the settlement agreement, Binance is obligated to pay $4.3 billion to various U.S. authorities and regulators. Notably, CZ himself is personally responsible for paying $150 million to the U.S.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission. At the time of this report, CZ was still on bail in the U.S., awaiting a court decision regarding his request to return to the United Arab Emirates before his sentencing in February.
While the settlement largely resolves many of Binance’s legal issues in the U.S., Binance.US and CZ still face a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June.
Furthermore, a group of investors has initiated legal action against soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo for his involvement in promoting Binance nonfungible tokens (NFTs), which are alleged to be unregistered securities.
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