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As reported by Bloomberg, U.S. prosecutors are looking to reach a plea agreement in the Binance case initiated by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
U.S. prosecutors asked a federal judge to accept an earlier plea deal in a sentencing letter submitted on Friday in a federal court in Seattle, according to Bloomberg, justifying one of the largest criminal penalties in U.S. history.
According to the U.S. prosecutors, "Given the nature and seriousness of Binance’s misconduct — it was intentional and led by senior executives, with hundreds of millions of dollars of collateral consequences, the penalties in the proposed plea agreement are appropriate."
As part of the plea agreement, Binance would be monitored for up to five years.
Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, entered a guilty plea to charges of money laundering and is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
On Nov. 21, Zhao entered a guilty plea to a charge of neglecting to uphold a successful anti-money laundering policy at Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, which he created.
To resolve the Department of Justice's (DOJ) investigation into violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), failing to register as a money-transmitting business, and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Binance simultaneously agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines and restitution.
Binance's guilty plea was part of coordinated resolutions with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Denys Serhiichuk
Godfrey Benjamin
