Binance will pay over $4 billion in fines for cryptocurrency laundering. “CZ”, its short form, has agreed to plead guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws, the US Department of Justice announced on Tuesday

The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, have reached an agreement with the American authorities, which includes the resignation of the iconic boss. As part of the deal, Binance will also plead guilty to violations of US law and has agreed to pay two fines of $3.4 billion and $968 million to two agencies dependent on the US Treasury, the Department of Finance said

According to investigations by two Treasury agencies, Binance would not have taken steps to prevent transactions by movements like the Islamic State group, Al-Qaida, or the Izzedine al-Qassamn Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. “Failing to implement anti-money laundering measures, Binance has allowed a wide range of criminal actors to trade on the platform,” the US Treasury said

The survey also revealed that after pledging to stop accepting US customers in 2019, Binance retained them, especially those who were the most active and generated significant revenue for the site. According to the Wall Street Journal, the agreement reached with the authorities would allow Changpeng Zhao to keep its stake in Binance. His sentence will not be known until a later date.