Binance ordered to pay $2.7B to CFTC, former chief to pay $150M

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—by Protos Staff

A US court has ordered crypto exchange Binance and its former chief Changpeng Zhao (CZ) to pay $2.7 billion and $150 million respectively to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The CFTC announced on Monday that the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois approved the historic settlement, which was first reached in November as part of a larger package with the Department of Justice (DoJ), CFTC, and two bureaus of the US Treasury.

By formalizing the settlement, the US court has found that Binance and CZ violated the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations. Binance will disgorge $1.35 billion in “ill-gotten transaction fees” and also pay a $1.35 billion penalty to the CFTC. CZ will personally pay a $150 million civil monetary penalty.

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In November, CZ was forced to resign as chief of Binance as part of a plea deal. He pled guilty to breaking US anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.

Binance was found to have withheld over 100,000 suspicious transactions with organizations flagged by the US as terrorist groups, along with transactions with sites selling child pornography and sexual abuse.

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