Binance and crypto billionaire pleads guilty in Seattle to money laundering violations

Binance and billionaire Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in federal court in Seattle Tuesday to money laundering violations as part of a settlement with the U.S. government, according to CNN.

Zhao is the founder and CEO of Binance.

On Tuesday, federal prosecutors filed charges in the U.S. District Court of Western Washington accusing Binance of failing to register as a money service business, violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement an anti-money laundering program, and violating U.S. economic sanctions.

The charging documents allege the misconduct started in August 2017 and continued to October 2022.

Additionally, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange has agreed to pay more than $4 billion as part of an agreement, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The development in the case against Binance was confirmed on the condition of anonymity ahead of an expected announcement. The value was first reported by Bloomberg.

Zhao is worth $23 billion, according to Bloomberg.

It comes months after the company was accused of operating as an unregistered securities exchange and violating a slew of U.S. securities laws in a lawsuit from regulators.

Binance is a Cayman Islands limited liability company founded by Zhao. The charges were similar to practices uncovered after the collapse of the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, last year.

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