As tweeted by CZ, “Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance. Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility.”
In a bizarre turn of events, Changpeng Zhao has resigned from his position as the CEO of Binance and pleaded guilty to the AML violations brought to light by the US Department of Justice. Following CZ’s resignation, Richard Teng will take over as the CEO of Binance.
In the court filing dated November 14, the DOJ accused Binance and Zhao of “willfully” violating the Bank Secrecy Act, citing the exchange failed to implement adequate anti-money laundering measures. The agency also claimed that Binance had failed to register as a money service on top of processing unlawful transactions involving illicit proceeds from hacks, ransomware, and scams, adding,
"[Binance] prioritized growth, market share, and profits over compliance with US law."
Subsequently, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to the DOJ’s allegations in a separate court filing. As part of the plea deal, CZ will pay $50M as a penalty and will no longer be able to serve as an executive at Binance or any other crypto company.
However, CZ will continue to remain a shareholder of the Binance. In his X (formerly called Twitter) post, the founder of Binance claimed that going forward, he plans to become a minority shareholder of startups in the blockchain and DeFi sectors.
Meanwhile, Binance has agreed to pay multiple fines to the CFTC, OFAC, and other regulators, with the overall sum amounting to $4.3B. The firm will also appoint a third-party compliance monitor, who will be responsible for reporting its compliance efforts to the US government for three years.
Written by
Ayush Pande
Ayush Pande is a hardware, gaming, and crypto writer based in India. He's a tech enthusiast who's fascinated by the potential of blockchain technology.
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