Largest crypto exchange CEO arrested! Anyone getting deja vu?

[pooya87]

Did they just throw this randomly in the mix
Binance doesn't accept anyone from Iran and also considering that it has a strict KYC policy there is no way to circumvent that either.

They just did not mention when the violation happened. If they counted it since Binance birthday in 2017 and a few years later before the exchange required KYC on their users, it is very possible that there are users from Iran or other sanctioned countries, locations used Binance and laundered their criminal money through cryptocurrencies and Binance.

They only started to do KYC since 2021
How KYC Helps Keep Users Safe in the EEA & UK

I suppose that could be the reason but at the same time pre KYC could also mean pre regulation of their business and anything done before that isn't exactly breaking any laws. Specially since as far as I know Binance never had any headquarters inside United States so they are not exactly subject to US laws.

users from Iran or other sanctioned countries, locations used Binance and laundered their criminal money through cryptocurrencies and Binance.

Just because someone is from a sanctioned country doesn't mean they own "criminal money" and want to "launder" it

BTW providing service to users from sanctioned countries is not counted as money laundering. It is counted as breaking US sanctions and would subject the business to sanctions or fines.

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[philipma1957]

Did they just throw this randomly in the mix
Binance doesn't accept anyone from Iran and also considering that it has a strict KYC policy there is no way to circumvent that either.

They just did not mention when the violation happened. If they counted it since Binance birthday in 2017 and a few years later before the exchange required KYC on their users, it is very possible that there are users from Iran or other sanctioned countries, locations used Binance and laundered their criminal money through cryptocurrencies and Binance.

They only started to do KYC since 2021
How KYC Helps Keep Users Safe in the EEA & UK

I suppose that could be the reason but at the same time pre KYC could also mean pre regulation of their business and anything done before that isn't exactly breaking any laws. Specially since as far as I know Binance never had any headquarters inside United States so they are not exactly subject to US laws.

users from Iran or other sanctioned countries, locations used Binance and laundered their criminal money through cryptocurrencies and Binance.

Just because someone is from a sanctioned country doesn't mean they own "criminal money" and want to "launder" it

BTW providing service to users from sanctioned countries is not counted as money laundering. It is counted as breaking US sanctions and would subject the business to sanctions or fines.

they operate binance.us and to fully say cz has zero to do with binance.us was likely impossible. thus the us went after them.

I always wonder why they would operate binance.us as it would tie them into usa taw rules.

[bluebit25]

Perhaps both speculation and conspiracy theories, but this time it was necessary for CZ to resign and accept the charges.
And perhaps Binance CZ's market share and influence has brought obstacles from more powerful people. So it's easy to understand that competition in this market is always fierce, but accusations and bans or acceptance from one side... But anyway, I still think this is more beneficial than CZ refusing and appeal, perhaps the scenario will follow but similar cases are limited contact as well as house arrest but still have a very luxurious life.

[pooya87]

they operate binance.us and to fully say cz has zero to do with binance.us was likely impossible. thus the us went after them.

They started binance.us as a separate thing to avoid problems such as this. Apparently that didn't work as well as they hoped.

I always wonder why they would operate binance.us as it would tie them into usa taw rules.

Because US market is always a good revenue from a business perspective. The population is high and so is the number of potential customers.

[yazher]

I'm still in shock that he accepted such crime but my concern is what will be the effects of this resignation on Bitcoin and the crypto space at large.

I'm even afraid that there could be some hackers in this exchange from now cause CZ really tries to keep people's assets very safe.

There is no doubt that he is really good when protecting the user's crypto assets inside their exchange and one thing that made him shine is their way of recovering the users' funds when it gets affected by hackers, they pay it for them. It won't be the same for sure after his resignation and it would be good for them not to exaggerate some new updates because the recent changes will leave their users hanging for a moment and any bad move will gonna make a huge change on their platform right now.

[tbct_mt2]

they operate binance.us and to fully say cz has zero to do with binance.us was likely impossible. thus the us went after them.

I always wonder why they would operate binance.us as it would tie them into usa taw rules.

They started binance.us as a separate thing to avoid problems such as this. Apparently that didn't work as well as they hoped.

Only Binance know why they did it but I thought Binance did it when they felt bigger risk from the trade war between two big nations.

Crypto Exchange Giant Binance to Launch US Trading Tuesday. It is in September 2019.

The China–United States trade war began since January 2018 but was escalated more some months later. It can be one of reasons or coincidence but it is not a matter now for Binance.

[franky1]

they operate binance.us and to fully say cz has zero to do with binance.us was likely impossible. thus the us went after them.

I always wonder why they would operate binance.us as it would tie them into usa taw rules.

They started binance.us as a separate thing to avoid problems such as this. Apparently that didn't work as well as they hoped.

Only Binance know why they did it but I thought Binance did it when they felt bigger risk from the trade war between two big nations.

Crypto Exchange Giant Binance to Launch US Trading Tuesday. It is in September 2019.

The China–United States trade war began since January 2018 but was escalated more some months later. It can be one of reasons or coincidence but it is not a matter now for Binance.

the charges clearly state...
from  2017 to october 2022 CZ and binance.com they 'conspired' to not do full KYC to identify US residences to then comply with regulations
from 2018 to may 2022 CZ and binance.com they 'conspired' to not do full KYC to identify iranian residences to then comply with regulations

they cared more about increasing their customer base, rather than putting in restrictions that would turn people away

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.328551/gov.uscourts.wawd.328551.1.0.pdf starting from middle of page 6

17   E. THE SCHEME
18   18.   Beginning no later than August 2017 and continuing until October 2022,
19   Defendant and its co-conspirators, including Zhao and Individuals 1 and 2, knowingly and
20   willfully conspired (i) to operate as an unlicensed MTB that failed to comply with
21   registration requirements under U.S. law and (ii) to violate the BSA by failing to establish,
22   implement, and maintain an effective AML program at Binance.
23   19.   MSBs, including money transmitters with effective AML programs, collect
24   KYC information that allows them to, among other things, identify users who are subject
25   to U.S. sanctions programs and prevent U.S. persons from conducting prohibited
26   transactions with persons subject to U.S. sanctions. During the relevant time period, many
27   MSBs, particularly those doing business wholly or in substantial part in the United States,


1   had AML programs that used KYC and other information to identify users subject to U.S.
2   sanctions programs and prevent U.S. persons from conducting prohibited transactions with
3   persons subject to U.S. sanctions.
4   20.   The purpose of the conspiracy was to allow Binance to operate as a virtual
5   currency exchange and gain market share and profit as quickly as possible. Defendant and
6   its co-conspirators accomplished this goal by attracting a substantial number of U.S. users
7   to Binance.com—particularly U.S. VIP users, who accounted for a significant percentage
8   of the overall trading volume on Binance.com. Defendant chose not to comply with U.S.
9   legal and regulatory requirements because it determined that doing so would limit its ability
10   to attract and maintain U.S. users. Defendant and its co-conspirators concealed Binance’s
11   avoidance and noncompliance with U.S. law.
12   21.   Defendant’s decision to prioritize its growth over compliance with U.S. legal
13   requirements meant that it facilitated billions of dollars of cryptocurrency transactions on
14   behalf of lts customers, including users in comprehensively sanctioned jurisdictions such
15   as Iran, without implementing appropriate KYC procedures or conducting adequate
16   transaction monitoring. During the relevant period, Defendant knew that U.S. law
17   prohibited U.S. persons from conducting certain financial transactions with countries,
18   groups, entities, or persons sanctioned by the U.S. government. Defendant knew that it
19   serviced users from comprehensively sanctioned jurisdictions and that these users were
20   prohibited from conducting transactions with U.S. persons. Defendant further l‹new that its
21   matching engine, i.e., Binance’s tool that matched customer bids and offers to execute
22   cryptocurrency trades, had been designed to execute cryptocurrency trades based on price
23   and time without regard to whether the matched customers were prohibited by law from
24   transacting with one another. Defendant also 1‹new that it did not block transactions
25   between users subject to U.S. sanctions and U.S. users and that its matching engine would
26   necessarily cause such transactions, in violation of U.S. law. During the relevant period,
27   Defendant nonetheless did not implement the necessary controls that would have prevented

1   Binance from causing U.S. users to conduct cryptocuiTency transactions with users in
2   comprehensively sanctioned jurisdictions.

As a result of Defendant’s decision not to implement comprehensive controls
4   blocking illegal transactions between sanctioned users and U.S. users, Defendant willfully
5   caused transactions between U.S. users and users in comprehensively sanctioned
6   jurisdictions in violation of U.S. law. Specifically, between in or about January 2018
7   through May 2022, Defendant caused at least 1.1 million transactions in violation of IEEPA
8   between users it had reason to believe were U.S. persons and persons it had reason to
9   believe resided in Iran

[JunaidAzizi]

So as you all know they charged CZ and he stepped down. Most likely he will get arrested as he goes on US soil.
What I find strange about all this, is that it’s all familiar. Anyone know what I am taking about?
Remember Bitmex and it’s CEO Arthur Hayes who was arrested. What happened right after? One of the biggest bull runs in Bitcoin history.
History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.

Yes, I just watched the news about it and I am very wonder that how a CEO does an illegal work. The first thing is why he does the money laundering and the second is why he accepts it. He is not a criminal or any type of person that he did money laundering in such big digits. He may not have come into the eyes if he did this in other countries but unfortunately, there is a law of the US against money laundering. He said he is so guilty about what was done and that's why he resigned.  He also said that he gets some time for himself and he is going to do some rest. He Announces a new CEO named Richard, ex-CEO of the financial services regulatory authority at Abu Dhabi global market ADGM. He said Richard has 3 decades of experience and will put binance to the next level. If he is so sure about him then we also need to trust him and give some time to him because I saw some other news suggesting people withdraw their money from Binance. Because the Binance is going to be down.

[Victorik]

Yea. I am sensing that too. In my opinion, I think CZ sacrificed his position for the bull run.
The whole game play is to get CZ out of the way, because there's no way blackrock ETF was going to be approved with CZ in the helms of affairs at binance, but now that he has stepped down to face criminal charges, the ETF is going to be approved.

But let's keep our fingers crossed and see as this pans out.

[philipma1957]

they operate binance.us and to fully say cz has zero to do with binance.us was likely impossible. thus the us went after them.

They started binance.us as a separate thing to avoid problems such as this. Apparently that didn't work as well as they hoped.

I always wonder why they would operate binance.us as it would tie them into usa taw rules.

Because US market is always a good revenue from a business perspective. The population is high and so is the number of potential customers.

But the laws and regs are fucking nuts in the US. I have bookcases filled with tax books from my accounting days. I just think he was a bit greedy to think he could get away with binance.us.

I think they will leave the us and coinbase will be it. leaving a true choke point for cash to coin to cash here in the USA

[Faisal2202]

So as you all know they charged CZ and he stepped down. Most likely he will get arrested as he goes on US soil.
.............
History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.

You are right but CZ might be released from custody if he pays 190+ million dollars in the upcoming days till the 27 of November and to be honest, I am seeing everyone saying CZ resigns while none of the officials of Binance, or the law enforcers mentioned the term "resign" or maybe they did and I am not aware of it but, after reading the plea pdf I can say this is a contract base fine everything is set up and Binance will come under CZ's control again.

As they said, CZ will not deal in any of the activities directly or indirectly related to Binance for 3 years, so after 3 years, CZ will be free or what? that only time traveler can tell but for now media created fud and many whales took benefit of it. Many even said Binance is going to be the next FTX but I say this prevents it from becoming one.

[leonair]

I'm still in shock that he accepted such crime but my concern is what will be the effects of this resignation on Bitcoin and the crypto space at large.

I'm even afraid that there could be some hackers in this exchange from now cause CZ really tries to keep people's assets very safe.

CZ pleaded guilty and paid a $50 million fine. And he resigned as CEO of Binance, the world's largest exchange. His mental activity had some effect on BNB but it is trying to recover on me. However, it is doubtful how much the new CEO will be able to sustain Binance. So these can have a big negative effect on BNB. Although it will recover later. But a negative effect may be seen for a temporary period. CZ was a worthy man at Binance but many are worried about how well the current new CEO can manage Binance

[Abu-Naim]

So as you all know they charged CZ and he stepped down. Most likely he will get arrested as he goes on US soil.

What I find strange about all this, is that it’s all familiar. Anyone know what I am taking about?

Remember Bitmex and it’s CEO Arthur Hayes who was arrested. What happened right after? One of the biggest bull runs in Bitcoins history.

History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.

I wish the history looks similar so that we can all forget the little correction bitcoin price and the market already did since yesterday.

Binance is just a crypto exchange, its business mistake should not affect the general bitcoin or crypto world since there are other exchanges that have failed in the past and others are still in existence; and even the Binance is still in operation. They should pay the agree fee for charges, face the little penalty they will be given and we move on.

I never expect Binance with their reputation to violate any rule financially because they are one of the leading crypto exchanges. They are showing people that they are not also clean for people to trust them with their money.

[kentrolla]

I think we are missing out on something which has taken place between CZ and SEC, because I am not in shock because he has charged but rather for the fact he has accepted the crime and it's such a crime which will tarnish his image which he has created all these years. I feel there is some sort of deal which has not come to light, may be between CZ and SEC because we usually don't see any CEO accepting charges against them. Let's wait and see how the story unfolds and if this will have any impact on crypto prices? No it won't but rather on BNB but he stepped down from Binance hence it's saved as well.

[panganib999]

Welp. This is just disappointing, to think that I was adamant about protecting and believing that he's the last stand against the CEX hate last year, what an eye-opening disappointment. Although is Binance directly involved in this money laundering business, or is binance only fined cause CZ was the CEO at the moment they made these vile things? Anybody willing to shed the light on me in this one? So, apparently the hate that the SEC is sending towards CEXs aren't necessarily unwarranted, they probably do have some sort of monkey business going on, either involving the business itself, or the founder of said business only. This sucks, cause this would practically mean that millions of people who are into crypto's gonna get into a massive culture shock.

[canudinho]

So as you all know they charged CZ and he stepped down. Most likely he will get arrested as he goes on US soil.

What I find strange about all this, is that it’s all familiar. Anyone know what I am taking about?

Remember Bitmex and it’s CEO Arthur Hayes who was arrested. What happened right after? One of the biggest bull runs in Bitcoins history.

History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.

Well, i've heard some good point considering that in fact this happened to prepare the world for the institutions on BTC.

Until they (Blackrock, JP, Fidelity) clean all the exchanges and risks of FUD, they are not going to put money on that and convince their customers to put their savings on it, so they have to make this business more formal and controllable. For me it seems a good point, and reasonable.

Pump it

[Nwada001]

I'm still in shock that he accepted such crime but my concern is what will be the effects of this resignation on Bitcoin and the crypto space at large.

He is just a big name in the crypto space, and such news can just add a little effect on the price of coins, which could be as a result of people making large withdrawals from the exchange to play safe and some panic sellers.

The only coins you should be worried about, if need be, should be BNB and TWT (trust wallet token), which are the two major coins or tokens owned by the exchange. For crypto at large, it will definitely survive.

I'm even afraid that there could be some hackers in this exchange from now cause CZ really tries to keep people's assets very safe.

CZ is good at what he does, but he is not the only one protecting the exchange from hacks; he has trained and professional developers who are also doing the job there for them.

Things might be a little different, but they will have to keep the exchange together. He is just stepping down, but that does not mean he won't have a share of the exchange revenue. As such, he could also forward some security tips and suggestions to them.

This won't be a problem at all for Binance because their revenue generation per year will be around 20 Billion so they can clear the penalty even before the due date.

Any source link to this?
I know the exchange is a big one and there is a lot of revenue from it, but 20 billion annually in revenue is really a big amount, and I doubt they make up to such an amount legally on a year basis.

[larry_vw_1955]

they operate binance.us ...

not anymore.

Binance to Make 'Complete Exit' From U.S., Pay Billions to FinCEN, OFAC on Top of DOJ Settlement
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/11/21/binance-to-make-complete-exit-from-us-pay-billions-to-fincen-ofac-on-top-of-doj-settlement/

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that Tuesday's action was the largest settlement in the department's history.
"I want to make sure that folks really understand how unprecedented this monitorship is," a senior official told reporters earlier on Tuesday. "We're not just going after the egregious conduct … but we're also … getting Binance out of the U.S. entirely."

binance.us is still online though right now just goes to show how binance doesn't really take things too seriously. if they had any sense they would have an announcement on the very front page saying "DON'T CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT WE'RE CLOSING DOWN!". irresponsible behavior towards their us customers...

[philipma1957]

they operate binance.us ...

not anymore.

Binance to Make 'Complete Exit' From U.S., Pay Billions to FinCEN, OFAC on Top of DOJ Settlement
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/11/21/binance-to-make-complete-exit-from-us-pay-billions-to-fincen-ofac-on-top-of-doj-settlement/

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that Tuesday's action was the largest settlement in the department's history.
"I want to make sure that folks really understand how unprecedented this monitorship is," a senior official told reporters earlier on Tuesday. "We're not just going after the egregious conduct … but we're also … getting Binance out of the U.S. entirely."

binance.us is still online though right now just goes to show how binance doesn't really take things too seriously. if they had any sense they would have an announcement on the very front page saying "DON'T CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT WE'RE CLOSING DOWN!". irresponsible behavior towards their us customers...

Frankly it looks to me like the USA is backing coinbase and allowed this attack.

I don't understand why CZ went into the US in the first place it was very likely going to be this way.

What I don't like is Coinbase may end up being the only exchange for USA citizens.

And topped with F2Pool dropping US banned tx in mined blocks the US is flexing some serious muscle here.


https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2023/11/22/bitcoins-anti-censorship-ethos-surfaces-after-mining-pool-f2pool-acknowledges-filter/


Now combine both and it looks like USA is going for the lockdown and control of BTC.

I wonder if they go after private wallets and addresses next?

[GreatArkansas]

Remember Bitmex and it’s CEO Arthur Hayes who was arrested. What happened right after? One of the biggest bull runs in Bitcoins history.

For me, this was just a coincidence. What I am worried about this time is the FUD. Just like when the CEO of Binance announced that the company stepped down, the market felt it, we saw a small dump in the entire market, not only their token BNB but also Bitcoin. But after that, we did pull back.
Me, I agree with what happened with BITMEX's CEO before. But the bull run thing, it's not because of these CEOs stepping down.