Binance's Zhao to plead guilty, step down to settle US illicit finance probe

channelnewsasia.com:

NEW YORK: Binance chief Changpeng Zhao will step down and plead guilty to breaking criminal US anti-money laundering laws as part of a US$4 billion settlement resolving a years-long probe into the world's largest crypto exchange, prosecutors said on Tuesday (Nov 21).The deal with the Justice Department, detailed in court filings, is part of a large settlement between the firm and other US agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Treasury Department, according to two sources familiar with the matter.The agreement will resolve criminal charges for conducting an unlicensed money transmitter business, conspiracy and breaching sanctions regulations, the filing said.The company will pay US$1.81 billion within 15 months, and a further US$2.51 billion forfeiture as part of the deal with the Justice Department, prosecutors said.

Zhao will personally pay US$50 million.Zhao's plea agreement also bars him from all involvement with Binance. His plea hearing was scheduled for 10.45am local time in Seattle.Binance's former chief compliance officer Samuel Lim will also be charged as part of the settlement, a source said, adding Binance will also be required to remediate its lapses.Lawyers for Zhao and Binance, as well as a company spokesperson, did not respond to calls for comment.

Neither Lim nor his lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment.Binance has been under the Justice Department's scrutiny since at least 2018, Reuters reported last year, just one of a string of legal headaches it faces in the United States.Federal prosecutors at the agency asked the company in December 2020 to provide internal records about its anti-money laundering efforts, along with communications involving Zhao, who founded the company in 2017.The CFTC in March filed civil charges against Binance, alleging it failed to implement an effective anti-money laundering program to detect and prevent terrorist financing.Internally, Binance officers and employees