US court approves order requiring Binance to pay $2.7 billion to CFTC

US court approves order requiring Binance to pay $2.7 billion to CFTC Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao fined $150 million, must pay one-third of the amount within 30 days according to agreement with CFTC After nearly 9 months of investigation and lawsuit, Binance and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) finally reached a settlement on the March lawsuit regarding Binance allowing trading of derivatives products. Illegal crypto production in the US.
According to the agreement approved by the Northern District Court of Illinois on December 18, Binance will have to pay a fine of $1.35 billion and repay $1.35 billion in illegal transaction fees to the CFTC. Former CEO Changpeng Zhao was also personally fined $150 million, of which $50 million must be paid within 1 month. Binance's former Chief Legal Officer Samuel Lim was also fined $1.5 million as an accomplice in the case. According to the allegation, under the direction of Mr. Changpeng Zhao, Binance actively attracted US customers, including large quantitative companies, even though Mr. Zhao and Binance were well aware of legal regulations prohibiting this. CFTC also accused Binance of operating a separate trading unit of 300 accounts, all directly or indirectly under the leadership of Changpeng Zhao. It has now been nearly 9 months since this legal controversy broke out. After many explanations and denials of the allegations, the result has been resolved. The agreement also requires Binance and Mr. Zhao to reform their corporate governance structure, including establishing an independent board of directors, compliance and audit committees. It should be noted that the above $2.7 billion fine is part of the $4.3 billion settlement that Binance reached with the CFTC - Department of Treasury - US Department of Justice last month. CFTC's enforcement team includes members: Candy Haan, Joseph Platt, Katherine Paulson... The above agreement marks an important step forward in easing tensions between Binance and US regulators. However, Mr. Changpeng Zhao is still "under house arrest" in the US and awaiting trial in February 2024 with a possible penalty of up to 10 years in prison.