US money laundering: Richard Teng becomes Binance's CEO after Changpeng Zhao pleads guilty & steps down

US money laundering: In yet another blow to the Crypto world, Binance's founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao has stepped down from his role as CEO after pleading guilty to breaking the U.S anti-money laundering laws. Following this, Zhao announced in X that Binance's global head of regional markets Richard Teng will take over as the new CEO.

This comes on the heels of the recent fraud conviction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

Changpeng Zhao pleads guilty

In the $4.3 billion settlement case in which investigation has been going on for years, Zhao has decided to plead guilty and settle. As per the deal, Zhao will personally pay $50 million. Reuters quoted some legal experts and said that this is a good outcome for Zhao, leaving his vast wealth intact and allowing him to retain his stake in Binance.

Also Read: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried Arrested in Bahamas

Binance will pay $1.81 billion within 15 months, and a further $2.51 billion forfeiture as part of the deal.

Binance's money laundering case

Binance chief is charged with breaking the anti-money laundering laws in US and failing to report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions with organizations the US described as terrorist groups including Hamas, al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

As per Reuters, the exchange also never reported transactions with websites devoted to selling child sexual abuse materials and was one of the largest recipients of ransomware proceeds.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that Binance made it easier for criminals to to move their stolen funds and illicit proceeds in its exchange.

“Binance made it easy for criminals to move their stolen funds and illicit proceeds on its exchanges," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Tuesday. “Binance also did more than just fail to comply with federal law. It pretended to comply."

As per New York Times, the US Justice Department, which negotiated the settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Treasury Department, is seeking an 18-month prison sentence for Zhao.

Richard Teng - The New CEO

As per media reports, the deal also mandates Zhao to not take on a management position in the company for the next three years.

Changpeng Zhao posted in X (formerly Twitter) about his stepping down from Binance and announced that Richard Teng will take over as the CEO.

In the post, he admitted to the mistakes he had committed and that he must take responsibility for the mistake. He called Richard Teng a highly qualified leader and expressed his trust on Teng to navigate the company through its next period of growth.

Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance. Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.

Binance is no longer a baby. It is…

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 21, 2023

A long-time executive of Binance, Teng was promoted to global head of regional markets earlier this year. As per hao's tweet, prior to joining Binance, Richard was CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM); Chief Regulatory Officer of the Singapore Exchange (SGX); and Director of Corporate Finance in the Monetary Authority of Singapore.