Binance founder pleads guilty to anti-money laundering charge, steps down
Global News
Changpeng Zhao, who started the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, pleaded guilty to one count of failure to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program.
The founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony charge that he failed to take steps to prevent money laundering as the company agreed to pay more than $4 billion following an investigation by the U.S. government.
CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to one count of failure to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program in federal court in Seattle. Binance is a Cayman Islands limited liability company.
Zhao also said he plans to step down from his leadership role, and that insider Richard Teng has been named the new chief executive of the cryptocurrency exchange.
The plea comes as the company agreed to pay over $4 billion as part of an agreement with the U.S. government, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press. The person confirmed the amount on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the agreement ahead of an expected announcement.
Over the summer, the company was accused of operating as an unregistered securities exchange and violating a slew of U.S. securities laws in a lawsuit from regulators. That case was similar to practices uncovered after the collapse of FTX, the second largest cryptocurrency exchange, last year.
Magistrate Judge Brian A. Tsuchida set Zhao’s sentencing for Feb. 23, however that’s likely to be delayed. He faces a possible guideline sentence range of up to 18 months.
The judge questioned Zhao to make sure he understood the plea agreement, saying at one point: “You knew you didn’t have controls in place.”
“Yes, your honor,” he replied.
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