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Binance chief pleads guilty to money laundering charges

Published

5 months ago

November 22, 2023

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The Binance chief executive, Changpeng Zhao, has resigned after pleading guilty to money laundering violations.

“I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself”, he said in a post on X.

The Justice Department said it was requiring Binance, the largest crypto-exchange in the world, to pay $4.3bn (£3.4bn) in penalties and forfeitures.

It said Binance had helped users bypass sanctions across the world.

“Binance enabled nearly $900 million in transactions between US and Iranian users, and facilitated millions of dollars in transactions between US users and users in Syria, and in the Russian occupied Ukrainian regions of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk”, a spokesperson said.

Binance, which is registered in the Cayman Islands, is known as the world’s largest platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies and other digital assets

The Justice Department also said the exchange had made it easy for criminals and terrorists to move money.

“Between August 2017 and April 2022, there were direct transfers of approximately $106 million in bitcoin to Binance.com wallets from Hydra. Hydra was a popular Russian darknet marketplace, frequently utilised by criminals, that facilitated the sale of illegal goods and services,” the department said.

Binance must now report suspicious activity to federal authorities.

“This will advance our criminal investigations into malicious cyber activity and terrorism fundraising, including the use of cryptocurrency exchanges to support groups such as Hamas,” the Justice Department said.

Richard Teng, the company’s head of regional markets, has been named the new CEO.

In a post on X, Changpeng Zhao said it was “not easy to let go emotionally.”

He is one of the most influential figures in crypto.

In March, US regulators sought to ban Binance, alleging that the firm had been operating in the country illegally.

The lawsuit from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said the firm cultivated US business while failing to register properly with authorities.

It accused Binance of breaking numerous US financial laws, including rules intended to thwart money laundering.

At the time, Binance defended its practices.

It said it had made “significant investments” to ensure that US users were not active on the platform, including blocking users identified as American citizens or residents, or who had a US mobile number.

The firm was also hit with another lawsuit in June.

The company was accused of a “web of deception” by The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The agency said the trading platform and Zhao, its founder, ignored the rules meant to protect investors, in order to keep operating in the US.

At the time, Binance said it would defend itself “vigorously”.

US authorities had pledged to use existing laws to root out fraud and other issues in the crypto industry, especially after the dramatic collapse of Binance rival FTX last year.

Earlier this month Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, was found guilty of fraud.

(Agencies)

News

Visa issue : Measures against officials challenging cabinet decision

Published

42 mins ago

May 3, 2024

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The government has issued a statement following the recent chaos at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake and allegations over outsourcing the on arrival visa process.

In a statement, the Department of Government Information refutes claims stating that the on arrival visa process has been outsourced sans a cabinet decision. It notes that Cabinet approval was granted last September to a proposal tabled by Minister Tiran Alles.

As per the procurement process, it was outsourced to VFS Global, a company with over 3388 centres across 151 countries, it adds.

The statement also mentions that the government has decided to look into issues that had recently taken place due to the company’s visa issuing process.

It adds that reports claiming that the entire visa process has been outsourced to a foreign company, are also baseless, clarifying only the facilitation work for visa issuance has been assigned to this company.

The statement also notes that the government will take necessary action against officials who are challenging the aforementioned cabinet decision in action or by issuing statements.

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Planters’ Association clarifies on daily wage increase

Published

3 hours ago

May 3, 2024

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The Planters’ Association of Ceylon, in a statement has issued a clarification with regard to the reported wage increase in the tea and rubber sector.

“Given the facts stated in the Gazette notification, the implication in media reports that the increased payments will be applicable from 1st May 2024, is inaccurate and misleading. Neither the effective date – on which the new proposed minimum payment will be applicable – nor the quantum of such payment has, as yet, been determined,” the statement notes.

Noting that the relevant gazette also notes that objections to the proposed determination will be received until May 15th, the Association also states they will be filing objections to these proposals within the time frame stipulated by the Labour Commissioner.

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China – SL to expedite implementation of MoUs

Published

4 hours ago

May 3, 2024

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Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong had called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Temple Trees in Colombo yesterday (May 02) to discuss ways and means of early implementation of the agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) reached between the two countries during the Prime Minister’s official visit to China in March 2024.

The Prime Minister said the implementation of the MOUs would begin a new chapter in the long-term friendship and economic cooperation between Sri Lanka and China.

Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanayake had signed the agreements on behalf of Sri Lanka, and the secretaries of nine Ministries signed on behalf of China in the presence of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang.
During the talks with Ambassador Qi Zhenhong, the Prime Minister stated that in addition to implementation of the MoUs, Sri Lanka would also welcome direct private investments from China as well as investments in agriculture, renewable energy, IT, education and water supply sectors to provide long term solutions to economic issues.

Ambassador Qi Shenhong said he was pleased to see the resilience of Sri Lanka to overcome difficulties and assured China’s continuous support to Sri Lanka’s current efforts at debt restructuring and meeting economic challenges.

Prime Minister’s Secretary Mr. Anura Dissanayake and Chinese Economic Counsellor were also present at this meeting.

(Prime Minister’s Media)