Crypto exchange, which has Asian links, fined over US$4 billion by US authorities
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| By: Toh Han ShihAsian regulators were ringing alarm bells over Binance well before the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and its former chief executive officer (CEO), Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to US authorities on November 21. In September 2021, for instance, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) ordered Binance to stop soliciting Singapore users. At the same time, MAS placed the exchange on its Investor Alert List for soliciting Singapore users without a license. “Further, on MAS’ referral, the Commercial Affairs Department commenced investigation into Binance for possible contravention of the Payment Services Act,” according to an MAS statement at the time. With a net worth of US$23.5 billion as of November 20, Changpeng Zhao was listed as the 68th richest person in the world before his downfall, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is on bail of US$175 million, with sentencing scheduled for February 23 next year, reported CoinTelegraph. Binance was ordered to pay US$4.3 billion in penalties and forfeitures. According to US regulators, the exchange was an illicit cash drawer for everybody from illicit Iranian users to users in Syria and Russian-occupied Ukraine, and terrorist groups including ISIS. Between August 2017 and October 2022, US users conducted trillions of US dollars in transactions on Binance’s platform, generating over US$1.6 billion in profit for Binance, said a US Justice Department press release…
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