Crypto Exchange Binance Guilty of Money Laundering Violations, Agrees to Pay Fine and Restitution
WASHINGTON – The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, have agreed to enter a plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice. Binance will pay $4.3 billion in fines and restitution, while Mr. Zhao will pay $50 million under the deal. In response to the plea deal, Bartlett Naylor, finance policy advocate with Public Citizen, issued the following statement:
“From its inception, cryptocurrency’s primary effective purpose has been to facilitate illicit activity, from terrorists to human and drug traffickers. Hiding behind bedazzling acronyms and word salad, and promises of quick wealth, crypto marketplaces have been, and continue to be, tools for money laundering.
“Justice will be served when those who commit corporate crimes on a scale far larger than almost all so-called street crime spend time in prison, as the government seeks for Changpeng Zhao. A record plea deal helps, but still pales next to the damage caused by crypto
“It’s no surprise that a business model which is essentially a Ponzi scheme will spawn criminal wrongdoing. Law enforcement is belatedly catching up, though millions of innocent consumers will likely never be compensated for the money they were cheated out of.
“Remarkably, as the barons of crypto see the insides of courtrooms, lawmakers in Congress dangerously continue their hype, promoting crypto-enabling legislation that undermines some of the core elements of U.S. financial regulations.”
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