The US Justice Department is negotiating with Binance in an attempt to resolve its investigation into the company, according to a November 20 report from Bloomberg citing people familiar with the discussions. The agreement would require Binance to pay $4 billion in fines. In return, the company would be allowed to keep operating while complying with US laws. According to the report, the announcement of an agreement “could come as soon as the end of the month.”
*US SEEKS MORE THAN $4 BILLION FROM BINANCE TO END CRIMINAL CASE
Source: Bloomberg | Coins: BNB
— db (@tier10k) November 20, 2023
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 is currently living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which does not have an extradition treaty with the US. This seems to imply that charges filed in the US would be unlikely to result in CZ’s arrest.
Related: Sealing docs in Binance case could suggest a criminal probe
The report claims that Binance is seeking a “deferred prosecution agreement.” Under the terms of this deal, the Justice Department would make a criminal complaint, but would not actually prosecute the company so long as it complies with three conditions.
First, it would need to pay $4 billion in penalties. Second, Binance 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.
Cointelegraph reached out to Binance for comment on the report but did not receive a response by the time of publication. In 2022, CZ sued a Bloomberg subsidiary for allegedly publishing false stories claiming he was running a “Ponzi Scheme.”