According to a report by “The Block”, a month after Binance’s former CEO Zhao Changpeng admitted to charges of involvement in anti-money laundering violations, a U.S. federal judge approved a settlement agreement between the cryptocurrency exchange and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
An order signed by U.S. District Judge Manish Shah of Illinois on December 14th shows that Zhao Changpeng must pay a civil penalty of $150 million, with one-third to be paid within the next 30 days. Binance must pay a fine of $1.35 billion to the CFTC and surrender $1.35 billion in “illegally obtained trading fees”.
In a statement released by the CFTC on Monday (the 18th), it was stated that Binance, under the direction of former CEO Zhao Changpeng, solicited customers in the U.S. and that Binance and Zhao Changpeng were aware of U.S. regulatory requirements but “chose to disregard those requirements”.
The consent order also requires Binance and Zhao Changpeng to ensure that the exchange establishes a corporate governance structure including a board of directors composed of independent members, a compliance committee, and an audit committee.