"Zhao, a Canadian national, also pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering (AML) programme, in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and has resigned as CEO of Binance," the Justice Department said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Richard Teng, Binance's former global head of regional markets, will be the exchange's new CEO, Zhao said in a post on X. "Binance is no longer a baby. It is time for me to let it walk and run. I know Binance will continue to grow and excel with the deep bench it has," Zhao added.
"As a
According to court documents, Binance admitted to prioritising growth and profits over compliance with US law.
Binance was launched in 2017 and focused on attracting high-volume customers. Binance failed to implement controls and procedures to prevent
"Binance became the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange in part because of the crimes it committed - now it is paying one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
"The message here should be clear: using new technology to break the law does not make you a disruptor, it makes you a criminal," Garland added.
Zhao said in his post on X that he will now do some passive investing, being a minority token/shareholder in startups in areas of blockchain/Web3/DeFi, AI and biotech.
"I can't see myself being a CEO driving a startup again. I am content being a one-shot (lucky) entrepreneur," he posted.