A US court has given its approval for a settlement agreement between Binance and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Under the terms of the settlement, the exchange will pay $1.35 billion in civil penalties and return $1.35 billion in illegally obtained commissions. Former CEO Changpeng Zhao has also pleaded guilty to violating the Commodity Exchange Act and will pay a personal fine of $150 million.
The court determined that Binance and Zhao actively targeted clients from the United States, including trading firms that engaged in derivatives transactions on the platform.
These actions were in direct violation of the exchange’s terms of use. Additionally, Binance allowed at least two prime brokers to open sub-accounts without proper KYC procedures.
The court’s decision also revealed that Zhao and Binance intentionally ignored US regulatory requirements and aided American clients in evading compliance.
Following the CFTC’s lawsuit, the defendants closed the accounts of the identified trading firms.
