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A court in the United States has ruled that crypto exchange Binance and its former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao pay Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Accordingly, CZ will pay 150 million dollars, Binance will pay 2.7 billion dollars.
On December 18th, CFTC announced that the US Illinois Northern District District Court had ratified the previously announced settlement and concluded the punitive action first published by CFTC in November.
In CFTC’s statement, “The court found that Zhao and Binance violated the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations. It applied a personal fine of 150 million dollars to Zhao and ordered Binance to forgive the unfair transaction fee of 1.35 billion dollars and pay CFTC a penalty of 1.35 billion dollars” were stated.
The approved settlement indicates the conclusion of the long-standing lawsuit by the CFTC against CZ and Binance. The agency filed a lawsuit against CZ and his exchange on March 27, accusing them of evading federal laws and operating an illegal derivatives exchange.
On November 21, CZ agreed to resign from his post at the head of Binance as part of a comprehensive agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Treasury Department, and CFTC. On the same day, Zhao also admitted various legal charges related to anti-money laundering laws.
On December 7, it was decided that CZ would stay in the U.S. until his penalty date of February 23, 2024. CZ, who faces up to 18 months in prison on money laundering charges, also agreed not to appeal the penalties.
As part of the agreement, CZ and Binance agreed to take further steps to ensure the continuation of Know Your Customer (KYC) measures on the exchange, and to make Binance have a formalized corporate governance structure, including a board consisting of independent members, a compliance committee and an audit committee.
The court also ruled that Binance’s former compliance officer Samuel Lim pay a fine of 1.5 million dollars, for “aiding and abetting Binance’s violations, and for deliberately evading or attempting to evade US laws by operating outside the US”
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