U.S. Seeks More Than $4 Billion Fines From Binance to End Criminal Investigation

Reported by Cointelegraph, the U.S. Justice Department is negotiating with Binance in an attempt to resolve its investigation into the company, according to a report from Bloomberg. The agreement would require Binance to pay $4 billion in fines. In return, the company would be allowed to keep operating while complying U.S. Laws.

As part of the agreement, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (also known as “CZ”) would face the possibility of criminal charges as part of an investigation into “alleged money laundering, bank fraud and sanctions violations.” The report states that CZ currently lives in the United Arab Emirates, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. This seems to imply that charges filed in the U.S. would unlikely result in CZ’s arrest.

The report suggests that Binance is pursuing a "deferred prosecution agreement." Under this arrangement, the Justice Department would file a criminal complaint but refrain from prosecuting the company, contingent upon compliance with three conditions.

First, Binance would need to pay $4 billion in penalties. Second, it would need to publish a detailed document admitting areas where it didn’t comply with the law. Third, a monitoring process would be set up to ensure Binance complies with laws and regulations in the future, and the company would need to comply with this process.