(New York) The largest cryptocurrency exchange platform in the world, Binance, and its general director, Changpeng Zhao, have reached an agreement with the American authorities, which provides for the resignation of the emblematic boss, several American media reported on Tuesday.
“CZ”, its diminutive, agreed to plead guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws, while Binance agreed to pay some $4.3 billion in fines to settle the proceedings against it.
Asked by AFP, the Justice Department declined to comment. Contacted, Binance did not immediately respond.
A joint press briefing by the Departments of Justice, Treasury and the financial markets regulator, the CFTC, is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. It will be devoted to “legal actions related to cryptocurrencies,” the authorities announced, without further details.
American authorities have been investigating the platform since at least 2018, according to several American media, but have not officially taken legal action until now.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Changpeng Zhao is due to appear before a federal judge in Seattle on Tuesday to plead guilty.
Co-founder, boss and majority shareholder of the company, the Canadian citizen born in China is the most famous personality in the world of digital currencies.
Binance is, by far, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, with around $12 billion in transactions carried out in the last 24 hours, according to the specialist site CoinMarketCap.
The American investigation, widely reported in the press, has for several years posed a threat to Binance, several executives of which have resigned in recent months.
In addition, the platform was taken to court this year by the two main financial market regulatory agencies, the SEC and the CFTC.
The latter criticizes Binance in particular for not having taken sufficient measures to prevent money laundering. In particular, customers could access the platform without their identity having been previously verified.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the agreement with the authorities would allow Changpeng Zhao to retain his stake in Binance. His sentence will not be known until a later date.