In a dramatic development, Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao is stepping down as CEO as part of a sizable $4 billion settlement with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is not involved in this settlement, which is noteworthy.
Zhao will acknowledge his guilt over the anti-money laundering charges brought by the DOJ as part of the settlement.
According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, the guilty plea is set to be entered in a federal court in Seattle on Tuesday afternoon.
As of the time of this report, Binance, the DOJ, the CFTC, and the SEC had not issued any formal comments.
Binance and Zhao were charged by the SEC in June with running an unregistered exchange and deceiving investors.
The accusations centered on Zhao’s fund, Sigma Chain, situated in Switzerland, which was purportedly utilized to manipulate trading volume on Binance’s American platform.
These activities, according to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, are part of a sophisticated web of legal evasion and deception.
The CFTC had previously accused Binance of providing cryptocurrency derivatives to American citizens without the necessary registration, and the SEC has now followed suit.
The CFTC had previously accused Binance of providing cryptocurrency derivatives to American citizens without the necessary registration, and the SEC has now followed suit.
According to recent reports from Bloomberg, Binance and the Justice Department are reportedly close to finalizing a $4 billion settlement, which would end the investigation that started in 2018.
Federal prosecutors are said to have asked Binance for documents and correspondence pertaining to its American clients in late 2020.
The previous September, Max Baucus, the former U.S. Senator and ambassador to China, announced that Binance would form a Global Advisory Board.
Notable individuals on the board include former French Treasury chief Bruno Bézard and President Barack Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe.
