Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has resigned and admitted to violating anti-money laundering laws in the United States.
This is part of a $4.3 billion settlement that ends a long investigation into the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
In the settlement, Zhao will personally pay $50 million, making it one of the largest penalties against a corporation in US history, according to prosecutors.
This is another setback for the crypto industry, which has faced various inquiries and was recently hit by the fraud conviction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
However, legal experts believe this is a favorable outcome for Zhao, as it allows him to keep his significant wealth and retain his ownership in Binance, the exchange he founded in 2017.
According to authorities, Binance violated US anti-money laundering and sanctions laws by not reporting over 100,000 suspicious transactions with organizations designated as terrorist groups by the US.
