Binance To Pay $2.7 Billion Fine To CFTC For Evading Federal Law (cointelegraph.com) 19
Binance will pay $2.7 billion to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for evading federal law and operating an illegal derivatives exchange. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency exchange's founder, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, will pay $150 million.
"The court finds Zhao and Binance violated the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, imposes a $150 million civil monetary penalty personally against Zhao, and requires Binance to disgorge $1.35 billion of ill-gotten transaction fees and pay a $1.35 billion penalty to the CFTC," wrote the CFTC in a statement. CoinTelegraph reports: The approved settlement marks the conclusion of a long-running case against CZ and Binance by the CFTC. On Nov. 21, CZ agreed to step down from his role at the helm of Binance as part of a wider settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Treasury Department and the CFTC. On the same day, Zhao pleaded guilty to several civil charges and one criminal charge relating to Anti-Money Laundering laws. On Dec. 7, CZ was ordered to remain in the U.S. until his Feb. 23, 2024 sentencing date. He faces up to 18 months in prison on money laundering charges and has agreed not to appeal any potential sentence up to that length.
As part of the settlement, both CZ and Binance have agreed to take further steps to ensure Know Your Customer measures are maintained on the exchange as well as requiring Binance to implement a formalized corporate governance structure, including a board of directors with independent members, a compliance committee and an audit committee. The court also made a separate order for Binance's former chief compliance officer, Samuel Lim, to pay a $1.5 million civil monetary penalty for "aiding and abetting Binance's violations and engaging in activities outside of the U. S. to willfully evade or attempt to evade U.S. law."
"The court finds Zhao and Binance violated the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, imposes a $150 million civil monetary penalty personally against Zhao, and requires Binance to disgorge $1.35 billion of ill-gotten transaction fees and pay a $1.35 billion penalty to the CFTC," wrote the CFTC in a statement. CoinTelegraph reports: The approved settlement marks the conclusion of a long-running case against CZ and Binance by the CFTC. On Nov. 21, CZ agreed to step down from his role at the helm of Binance as part of a wider settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Treasury Department and the CFTC. On the same day, Zhao pleaded guilty to several civil charges and one criminal charge relating to Anti-Money Laundering laws. On Dec. 7, CZ was ordered to remain in the U.S. until his Feb. 23, 2024 sentencing date. He faces up to 18 months in prison on money laundering charges and has agreed not to appeal any potential sentence up to that length.
As part of the settlement, both CZ and Binance have agreed to take further steps to ensure Know Your Customer measures are maintained on the exchange as well as requiring Binance to implement a formalized corporate governance structure, including a board of directors with independent members, a compliance committee and an audit committee. The court also made a separate order for Binance's former chief compliance officer, Samuel Lim, to pay a $1.5 million civil monetary penalty for "aiding and abetting Binance's violations and engaging in activities outside of the U. S. to willfully evade or attempt to evade U.S. law."
Must be nice (Score:3, Insightful)
It's basically indulgences for Wall Street.
Re: (Score:2)
It's simply part of the cost of doing bus... ok, let's call a spade a spade, it's part of the cost of the scam.
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This is a sub-part of the overall 4.3B settlement announced last month. They even mention it in TFA.
https://cointelegraph.com/news... [cointelegraph.com]
Sometimes the law makes you say 'WTF'? (Score:2)
Their business model was in violation of the law. Damn right they knew it.
Why is the punishment a fine and not a fine plus a corporate death penalty? Why let a deliberately criminal enterprise continue to operate just because it incorporated?
It's insane.
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Their business model was in violation of the law. Damn right they knew it.
Why is the punishment a fine and not a fine plus a corporate death penalty? Why let a deliberately criminal enterprise continue to operate just because it incorporated?
It's insane.
They probably offered to hand over ALL of their extremely intrusive KYC data that it collected from all its customers over the year. Must be SO much detailed personally identifying information in there (kind of the point of KYC) it'd be worth a fortune, way more than the fine, especially to the feds.
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Because destroying the corporation mostly punishes low level employees who had nothing to do with the crime.
The shareholders are punished by the fine. Perhaps the fine should be higher, but that's a different issue.
People in management who committed crimes should be criminally prosecuted as individuals.
But shutting down companies because of bad management makes no sense. It hits the wrong people. That was the lesson of Arthur Andersen. 28,000 people lost their jobs because of the criminal actions of a handf
Re: Sometimes the law makes you say 'WTF'? (Score:3)
Perceived job losses are irrelevant in the face of corporate criminal acts.
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In other words, I should open a hitman business. As long as I employ more people than I assassinate, I should be fine.
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Their business model was in violation of the law. Damn right they knew it.
Why is the punishment a fine and not a fine plus a corporate death penalty? Why let a deliberately criminal enterprise continue to operate just because it incorporated?
It's insane.
Because somebody's making profit. And as well all know, profit is the new God. Governments of the world are united in one simple truth: You may skim the profit for your own use, but you may NOT stand in the way of it! It is the one tenet of truth all world leaders agree on.
pillory (Score:2)
Can we at least pillory CZ? Society demands more than fines that help no one.
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Can we at least pillory CZ?
we who?
Society demands ...
Shirley you jest. Which society? Whose society? Demands are what? Where do you see them?
Seriously. Go back to bed.
Never Jail for those with money (Score:2, Insightful)
Are there middle men to these fines? (Score:2)