In a recent sentencing memo, the US prosecutors asserted that Binance has willfully violated the country’s economic sanctions laws, urging the court to accept Binance’s plea deal. They added that the exchange’s law breach has pushed the country’s financial system into vulnerability.
Reiterating that the company’s misconduct, led by the key executives, was intentional, the prosecutors asserted that it posed serious threats to the economy. They wrote,
In sum, 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.
Binance has been under legal scrutiny following a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last year. The regulators accused Binance of violating the federal securities law by offering unregistered securities, in addition to several other charges.
Despite repeated efforts to dismiss the charges, Binance finally pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations. Agreeing to settle the case with the payment of a $4.3 billion penalty, founder Changpeng Zhao stepped down from Binance as CEO. The company’s plea deal includes the requirement of monitoring the firm for up to five years.
In the recent memo filed on Friday, US prosecutors claimed that the company failed to register as a money services business that transmits or converts money. The lawyers also chastised the firm’s ignorance in implementing an effective anti-money laundering program. According to the prosecutors, Binance’s act has left “Binance, its customers, and the US financial system vulnerable to those who seek to exploit our system for their own gain.”
In related news, Changpeng Zhao’s criminal sentencing has been postponed until April. While Zhao was allowed to stay free in the US, he was restricted from traveling to his homeland, UAE, citing a serious “flight risk.”
