The US Department of Justice Wants Binance to Pay a Fine

Negotiations are underway between the U.S. Department of Justice and Binance, with the condition that if Binance agrees to pay the fine, the U.S. government will halt their investigation.

However, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, will still face criminal charges related to bank fraud, money laundering, and violations of financial sanctions. Zhao currently resides primarily in Dubai (UAE), where there is no extradition agreement with the U.S.

The US Justice Department is seeking more than $4 billion from Binance as part of a proposed resolution of a years-long investigation into the world’s largest crypto exchange https://t.co/5pwCtlVwIG

— Bloomberg (@business) November 20, 2023

Bloomberg predicts that the formal announcement of the fine could be made at the end of November, but the detailed content has not been disclosed. The investigation is being conducted by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Unit, the National Security Division, and the Seattle U.S. Attorney’s Office of the U.S. Department of Justice.

If Binance accepts the 4 billion USD fine, it will be one of the largest fines in the history of the cryptocurrency industry. The U.S. Department of Justice believes that this fine is reasonable for Binance to continue its operations, avoid prosecution risks, and ensure the stability of the cryptocurrency market.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into Binance has been ongoing since 2020 with allegations of money laundering, but as of now, there has been no formal indictment. Information from late 2022 indicates that prosecutors are examining evidence and are hesitant to prosecute Binance, but they still need additional evidence to substantiate the case.

Additionally, Binance is facing lawsuits from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in March 2023 and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June 2023, with serious allegations regarding the management and listing of cryptocurrencies considered securities.

Both Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao have not provided an official response to the information about the U.S. Department of Justice’s request for a 4 billion USD fine, but Binance’s BNB token price increased by over 10% as this news circulated, before stabilizing at 256 USD.

Chart of the BNB/USDT pair on the Binance exchange at 08:00 AM on November 21, 2023.