A federal court has consented to a settlement between the US derivatives markets regulator and Binance.
According to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal court has found Binance and its founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao guilty of violating the derivatives markets regulator’s rules as well as laws governing the trading of commodity futures in the United States.
“In formalizing the settlement initially announced on November 21, 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.”
Last month, the CFTC reached an agreement with Zhao and Binance to pay $2.7 billion in penalties to resolve charges brought forth by the derivatives markets regulator. Zhao also resigned as CEO of the crypto exchange and is currently facing criminal charges.
At the time, the CFTC specifically accused Binance and its founder of “acting as an unregistered futures commission merchant (FCM); operating an illegal digital asset derivatives exchange; and failing to have adequate know-your-customer compliance controls among other illegal activities.”
Last week, the CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam, said Zhao faces the prospect of going to prison.
“The sentencing will be taking a bit of time. So I think law enforcement, both criminal and civil, we work together [and] we feel like we got a bad actor here and it’s sending a clear message.”
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