Binance used AML to support Hamas
I was expecting the successful charges against Binance and President CZ. What I was not expecting was the free gift of all that could go wrong with Anti Money Laundering (AML) in the absence of being outside the US regulatory regime(s).
The investigation over 8 years included the Justice Department, Treasury Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. After an eight year investigation I sincerely hope that going easy on Zhao is worth it and that the plea bargain gave them something tangible. I am sceptical of that based on how much is known about AML and the common knowledge amongst security folks that Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, North Korea in Organised crime.
Binance did not just fall afoul of AML, they apparently willfully participated and were complicit in protecting the perpretators by knowingly assisting in hiding the transactions. If a normal bank did that the prison and financial penalties would be horrendous, yet Janet Yellen today sounded sorry for them.
More to come but I wanted to get this story out.
Binance Pleads Guilty, Loses CZ, Pays Fines to End Legal Woes
- Company didn’t prevent Hamas transactions, to pay $4.3 billion
- Zhao fined $50 million, sentencing delayed by 6 months
Binance are guilty
Binance, which admitted that it allowed transactions with Hamas and other terrorist groups on the platform, was charged with three counts, including anti-money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and violating US sanctions.
Binance, which admitted that it allowed transactions with Hamas and other terrorist groups on the platform, was charged with three counts, including anti-money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and violating US sanctions. The exchange is paying a criminal fine of $1.8 billion and forfeiting $2.5 billion, according to court filings unsealed Tuesday.
and the kicker which is shocking:
Zhao faces as many as 10 years in prison but is expected to get no more than 18 months under a plea deal that appears to have saved him from the harsh penalties that other prominent crypto criminals have faced. The Justice Department hasn’t decided yet what length of a prison term they will seek for him.
Sources
See above.
The crypto venue also pleaded guilty to a host of criminal charges related to money laundering and breaching international financial sanctions, agreeing to pay more than $4.3bn in penalties, US authorities said on Tuesday.
Within five years, Binance grew from a start-up into an exchange giant with employees in dozens of countries. In November 2022 it controlled more than half of the crypto market.
