Binance and CEO CZ Plead Guilty to Money Laundering in $4.3 Billion Settlement with DOJ
Incident Details
Summary
On November 21, 2023, Binance — the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange — and its CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) pleaded guilty to federal charges. Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines and penalties, the largest corporate penalty in US history at that time. CZ pleaded guilty to failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering program, acknowledging that Binance had knowingly processed transactions for sanctioned entities including terrorist groups and sanctioned countries (Iran, Cuba, Syria). CZ resigned as CEO and was sentenced to 4 months in federal prison in April 2024. The case exposed how major crypto exchanges had operated as conduits for illicit finance at massive scale while regulators struggled to keep pace.
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