A US judge has reportedly approved Binance’s guilty plea and the accompanying estimated $4.3bn penalty for transgressing federal anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. The largest cryptocurrency exchange worldwide admitted to not exercising adequate internal control to prevent fraudulent financial activities.
US judge accepts Binance’s $4.3bn guilty plea
The penalty includes $1.81bn criminal and $2.51bn forfeiture fines. Binance already submitted its guilty plea in November 2023 and this legal approval, which was given on Friday, 23 February 2024, brings the matter to a close. According to Reuters, the plea resolved an extensive probe that investigated Binance’s failure to report over 100,000 transactions attached to known terrorist factions such as Hamas, Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Other charges claimed that the crypto exchange also enabled the sale of ransomware containing the sexual abuse of children. Binance indicated that it accepted its responsibility and consequently improved its anti-money laundering and customer vetting protocols.
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Based on the Reuters report, the crypto exchange made vague reference to its “significant progress” regarding the provisions of the plea deal. In November 2023, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao also tabled a guilty plea for money-laundering transgressions. At the time, he paid a bond of $175m.
In terms of the plea agreement, Zhao was fined $50m and he lost his position as the company CEO. During the 23 February hearing, prosecutors suggested changes to this bond forcing Zhao to remain in the continental US under the supervision of the court until his sentencing on 30 April 2024. The changes were discussed with Zhao’s legal team, but they objected and did not offer any comments when approached by media.
