US Government Prosecutors Push for Acceptance of Binance’s Plea Deal
According to a report from Bloomberg, US government prosecutors are urging a federal judge to accept the plea deal offered by cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The exchange was fined $4.3 billion by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in November 2023 as part of a settlement for a multi-year investigation.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has stated that he will plead guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws and step down from his position. The sentencing memo filed last week emphasizes the prosecutors’ request for the judge to accept the plea deal, citing intentional misconduct by Binance that resulted in significant financial consequences.
Sentencing Hearing Delayed
The sentencing hearing for Zhao has been postponed until April 30th, as reported by CNBC. This delay comes after a lawsuit was filed against Binance by a former hostage and family members of victims of a terrorist attack, accusing the exchange of facilitating funding for the terrorist group.
In addition to this case, Binance and Zhao were previously accused by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of selling unregistered securities and misleading investors. The SEC also attempted to freeze the assets of Binance’s American arm, Binance.US.
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