Binance pleads guilty, fined $4.3B over widespread U.S. law violations
By 
Aaron Nicodemus2023-11-21T23:38:00
Federal agencies hit Binance with more than $4.3 billion in penalties, prompted the resignation of its chief executive officer, and imposed multiple compliance monitorships on the virtual currency exchange as punishment for its repeated and intentional violations of U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) laws, sanctions, and other regulations.
The Department of Justice (DOJ); Treasury Department, including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC); and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) made the announcements at a joint press conference Tuesday.
“Binance became the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in part because of the crimes it committed—now it is paying one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT
You are not logged in and do not have access to members-only content.
If you are already a registered user or a member, SIGN IN now.
Related articles
-
PremiumCFTC’s Pham critical of agency stances on CCO liability, self-disclosure credit
Caroline Pham, a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said compliance officers have a lot to worry about if they or their firms are subject to CFTC enforcement during her fireside chat at CW’s Financial Crimes Summit.
-
OpinionBinance CEO got 4 months in prison. FTX’s got 25 years. Was compliance the difference?
Why the wild disparity in the sentences of Binance’s Changpeng Zhao and FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried? Aaron Nicodemus argues the performance of the compliance teams at the two cryptocurrency exchanges was as big a contrast as the penalties earned by their respective founders.
-
News BriefFINTRAC fines Binance $4.4M over AML/CFT violations
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada imposed a penalty of approximately CAD$6 million (U.S. $4.4 million) against crypto platform Binance over alleged noncompliance with the country’s anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism law.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
News BriefCFPB pullback signals further shift toward industry-friendly regulation
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to unravel amid pressure from Trump administration officials to shutter the agency. Not only has the agency informed its employees that it will no longer be a watchdog for the financial services industry, it has also laid off employees despite court orders blocking ...
-
News BriefTrump’s CFPB, dismissing Comerica case, continues to cut down Biden-era lawsuits
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dropped yet another consumer protection lawsuit against a bank or fintech provider since Donald Trump was sworn in as president in January. This time, it was with Comerica Bank.
-
News BriefCash App parent to pay $40 million for alleged BSA/AML violations in New York
Block Inc., maker of the popular Cash App, has been hit with a $40 million fine by New York for its alleged failure to report suspicious activity. The move marks the latest in a string of recent state and federal enforcement actions against the company.