Photo: ERIC PIERMONT / AFP / Getty Images
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to money laundering as part of a deal with the United States government. Zhao was ordered to pay a $50 million fine and was barred from working for the company for three years.
Binance, which is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, also agreed to plead guilty and must pay $4.3 billion in fines and restitution.
The plea deal was the culmination of a three-year investigation into Binance by the Department of Justice. The company was accused of failing to set up money-laundering safeguards while allowing nearly $900 million in transactions in violation of economic sanctions against Iran. The company also permitted individuals from Cuba and Syria to access the exchange, even though both nations were under U.S. sanctions.
Zhao and his company were also accused of skirting U.S. laws by serving wealthy American customers, referred to as VIPS, on the main exchange instead of one based in the United States that would have to abide by U.S. financial regulations.