Binance To Pay $2.7 Billion In Settlement Deal With CFTC, CZ Fined $150 Million

Updated: 19 December 2023

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A US court approved a settlement deal between Binance and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that involves a payment of $2.7 billion by the exchange and a $150 million fine for co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ).

The regulator said in a Dec. 18 press release that Binance and CZ ”chose to ignore” US laws and solicited customers in the country at Zhao’s direction.

The world’s biggest crypto exchange was fined $1.35 billion and also ordered to “disgorge another $1.35 billion of ill-gotten transaction fees.”

🔸US court approves order for Binance to pay $2.7 bln to CFTC

Zhao will pay $150 million and Binance will pay $2.7 billion to the CFTC as a result, the agency said in a statement.

In November, Zhao stepped down and pleaded guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering laws as…

— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) December 19, 2023

Binance CCO Also In The Mix

The court also ordered that the exchange’s former Chief Compliance Officer (CFO), Samuel Lim, pay $1.5 million as a civil monetary penalty for “aiding and abetting Binance’s violations and engaging in activities outside the US to evade or attempt to evade US law willfully.”

The court order demanded that the exchange and CZ commit to the exchange establishing a corporate governance structure to include a board of directors with independent members, alongside compliance and audit committees.

DoJ Settlement

Last month, the crypto exchange agreed a $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice to settle criminal charges of money laundering and sanctions violations levelled against it. Zhao was fined $50 million and agreed to step down as CEO for three years.