{"id":26819,"date":"2023-12-19T02:34:38","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T02:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/us-court-approves-settlement-against-binance-firm-to-pay-2-7b-to-cftc\/"},"modified":"2023-12-19T02:34:40","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T02:34:40","slug":"us-court-approves-settlement-against-binance-firm-to-pay-2-7b-to-cftc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/us-court-approves-settlement-against-binance-firm-to-pay-2-7b-to-cftc\/","title":{"rendered":"US court approves settlement against Binance, firm to pay $2.7B to CFTC"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A United States court has entered an order against crypto exchange Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng \u201cCZ\u201d Zhao, that will see Binance pay $2.7 billion and CZ pay $150 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).<\/p>\n

In a Dec. 18 statement, the CFTC announced that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois had approved the previously announced settlement and concluded the enforcement action first issued by the CFTC in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe court finds Zhao and Binance violated the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, imposes a $150 million civil monetary penalty personally against Zhao, and requires Binance to disgorge $1.35 billion of ill-gotten transaction fees and pay a $1.35 billion penalty to the CFTC,\u201d wrote the CFTC in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Federal Court Enters Order Against Binance and Former CEO, Zhao, Concluding CFTC Enforcement Action: https:\/\/t.co\/YJD1lglbsZ<\/p>\n

\u2014 CFTC (@CFTC) December 18, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The approved settlement marks the conclusion of a long-running case against CZ and Binance by the CFTC. The agency\u00a0sued the executive and his exchange on March 27 for evading federal law and operating an illegal derivatives exchange.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Nov. 21, CZ agreed to step down from his role at the helm of Binance as part of a wider settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Treasury Department and the CFTC. On the same day,\u00a0Zhao pleaded guilty to several civil charges and one criminal charge relating to Anti-Money Laundering laws.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0Binance CEO outlines plan for crypto exchange after CZ steps down<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As part of the settlement, both CZ and Binance have agreed to take further steps to ensure Know Your Customer measures are maintained on the exchange as well as requiring Binance to implement a formalized corporate governance structure, including a board of directors with independent members, a compliance committee and an audit committee.<\/p>\n

The court also made a separate order for Binance\u2019s former chief compliance officer, Samuel Lim, to pay a $1.5 million civil monetary penalty for \u201caiding and abetting Binance\u2019s violations and engaging in activities outside of the U. S. to willfully evade or attempt to evade U.S. law.\u201d<\/p>\n

CZ was succeeded as CEO by Binance\u2019s former global head of regional markets, Richard Teng. <\/p>\n

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It is an honour and with the deepest humility that I step into the role of Binance\u2019s new CEO.<\/p>\n

We operate the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume. The trust placed on us by our 150m users and thousands of employees is a responsibility that I take seriously and hold\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) November 21, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In an interview with Cointelegraph on Dec. 5, Teng described Binance as being \u201ctotally different,\u201d assuring investors that the days of having \u201cgaps in compliance\u201d were now firmly behind it. Teng said that moving forward, Binance\u00a0was heavily invested in ensuring compliance with regulatory agencies from around the globe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the past 18 months, Binance has been forced to terminate or significantly adjust its core services in several jurisdictions around the globe \u2014 including the Netherlands, Cyprus, Australia and Canada.<\/p>\n

Magazine:\u00a0Terrorism and the Israel-Gaza war have been weaponized to destroy crypto<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n