Facts Emerge as Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao Resigns, Pays $50 Million Fine Over Money Laundering
- Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao has stepped down from his position
- The former Binance boss was charged with money laundering and unauthorized money transmission
- Zhao also paid a $50 million fine, and Binance agreed to pay $4 billion in penalties
Pascal Oparada has over a decade of experience covering Tech, Energy, Stocks, Investments, and Economy.
The founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency platform, Changpeng Zhao, has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges, unauthorized money transmitting, and violations in Seattle, United States.
Federal authorities said the platform also agreed to pay $4 billion in fines and other penalties.
Source: Getty Images
Zhao pleads guilty, pays $50 million
Zhao made the pleas on Tuesday, November 21, 2022, in a federal court in the US.
PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!
Under the deal, the firm reached settlements with the treasury department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which has also investigated the firm.
Zhao reached a plea bargain and agreed to step down from his position AS CEO and pay a $50 million fine.
According to reports, prosecutors also seek an 18-month prison sentence for the ex-Binance boss, the maximum penalty under federal rules.
Binance accepts a government-appointed monitor
The crypto platform has agreed to accept the appointment of a government monitor to oversee its business operations.
Experts say Binance became the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange due to the crimes it committed.
Zhao and Binance is the second-largest crypto exchange company to be charged for money laundering.
Zhao admits mistakes in a resignation letter
In his resignation letter, Zhao admitted to making mistakes.
“Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance. Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself,” Zhao said.
After a month-long trial in New York, Sam Bankman-Fried, ex-CEO of FTX, was found guilty of fraud and money laundering.
Court finds crypto billionaire guilty
Legit.ng reported earlier that former crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty by a New York jury on all seven counts of fraud, embezzlement, and criminal conspiracy.
After five weeks of trial, the panel decided, and Bankman-Fried now faces up to 110 years behind bars.
Sentencing will take place at a later date. The month-long federal trial had been an ordeal for Bankman-Fried after some of his closest associates testified that he was crucial for all the decisions that saw $8 billion vanish from his FTX trading platform.
Bankman-Fried, 31, was, until late last year, a poster boy for the crypto industry and estimated to be worth $26 billion by Fortune magazine before his empire collapsed spectacularly.
In closing arguments, prosecutors portrayed the defendant as a brilliant man consumed by greed who knew what he was doing when FTX funds were secretly funneled to his hedge fund.
The world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, appoints Ibukun Awosika to Global Advisory Board
Legit.ng reported that The world’s biggest cryptocurrency, Binance, has appointed former First Bank Director Ibukun Awosika to its board advisory board to help it manage some of the most urgent regulatory problems in the industry.
A statement by Binance said the exchange had been prodding countries to take the initiative and adopt an economic future in which crypto and blockchain will play an important role.
The platform said that licenses and regulations will elicit discussion and negotiation and that more nations want to establish a promising future.
PAY ATTENTION: Donate to Legit Charity on Patreon. Your support matters!
Source: Legit.ng
