Binance says it 'accepts responsibility' for past actions as judge approves plea deal

Binance Holdings Ltd. will pay one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history after a judge approved a plea agreement on Friday requiring the exchange to pay $4.3 billion. 

"Binance accepts responsibility for the company’s past actions and has already made significant progress in taking the steps required under the terms of this plea agreement," a Binance spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Block. Judge Richard Jones approved the plea agreement during a hearing in Seattle on Friday. 

Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao agreed to settle criminal charges with the Department of Justice and other federal agencies in November. Prosecutors said Binance did not put in place needed components of an anti-money laundering program, including know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, and never filed a suspicious activity report with regulators. Illicit actors were then able to use Binance to conduct transactions for mixing services and transfer their funds, prosecutors said last year. 

Binance had agreed to pay an unprecedented $4.3 billion penalty, appoint a new CEO and have in place an external compliance monitor for three years. 

A Binance spokesperson on Friday said the company has made "considerable compliance enhancements" over the past several years involving KYC and anti-money laundering detection. 

"We look forward in the coming months to continuing to build on our efforts to set the industry standard for compliance, security, and transparency," the Binance spokesperson said. "We are pleased to put this matter behind us as we continue on our path of being the most trusted and secure digital asset exchange in the world."

Prosecutors and lawyers representing Binance had asked the court to accept the plea agreement, according to court documents filed last week. 

Upcoming sentencing for CZ

Zhao, also known as CZ, is awaiting his sentencing hearing, currently set for April 30, after pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and resigning from his role as CEO of Binance last November. He remains free on bail in the U.S. after securing his release with a $175 million dollar bond. 

Zhao faces a prison term of up to 18 months under federal guidelines, though U.S. prosecutors are free to argue that the former CEO be given up to 10 years.

Binance named Richard Teng, who was previously Binance’s Global Head of Regional Markets, as its new CEO in November. 

Tim Copeland contributed reporting