#Binance to Pay $4.3B to Settle U.S. Criminal Case; Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao Resigns as CEO and Pleads Guilty in Seattle$
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Richard Teng takes over as CEO of the world's largest crypto exchange
Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, was criminally charged with breaking sanctions and money-transmitting laws and agreed to pay $4.3 billion to settle the allegations in "one of the largest penalties" the U.S. has ever obtained from a corporate defendant.
Founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao pleaded guilty in Seattle to charges he personally faced and agreed to pay a $50 million fine, as well as step down from the CEO job. Richard Teng, a former Abu Dhabi regulator and later Binance's regional markets head, will take over as CEO.
Binance was accused of failing to maintain a proper anti-money laundering program, operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and violating sanctions law, according to a court filing unsealed on Tuesday.
Separately, the U.S. Treasury Department and CFTC announced their own settlements with Binance. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen noted that Binance's settlement with her department's money laundering and sanctions watchdogs was the largest in Treasury history.
Zhao pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and causing a financial institution to violate the BSA, according to another filing. His fine will be credited against the amount he owes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
"Binance employees knew and discussed that the company was serving thousands of users in sanctioned countries, and they knew that facilitating transactions between U.S. users and users in sanctioned countries would be in violation of U.S. law. But they did it anyway," Attorney General Merrick Garland said during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
The $4.3 billion Binance is paying is among the largest penalties ever obtained from a corporate defendant, Garland said. The exchange's overall fine remains $4.3 billion, with some amount being credited to each agency.
