Founder of Binance, world’s largest crypto exchange, pleads guilty to anti-money-laundering charge

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, GENE JOHNSON and ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government has dealt a massive blow to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The company’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to a felony charge Tuesday related to his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform. Binance also agreed to a roughly $4 billion settlement with the U.S. over violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and apparent violations of sanctions programs, including failure to put into place a suspicious transaction reporting programs. Zhao has announced that he stepped down as the company’s chief executive. U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the settlement is one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history.