A
federal
judge
has
signed
off
on
crypto
exchange
Binance’s
$4.3
billion
plea
deal
with
the
U.S.
Department
of
Justice.
During
a
sentencing
hearing
Friday,
Judge
Richard
Jones
of
the
U.S.
District
Court
for
the
Western
District
of
Washington
approved
the
top-line
fine
itself,
though
he
did
not
yet
sign
off
on
any
monitor
for
the
exchange.
Bloomberg
first
reported
the
news
earlier
Friday.
The
DOJ
announced
the
settlement
last
November,
alleging
Binance
had
violated
sanctions
and
anti-money-laundering
laws
over
a
years-long
period.
Under
the
terms
of
the
settlement,
the
exchange
would
pay
$4.3
billion,
appoint
an
independent
compliance
monitor
and
have
its
CEO
at
the
time,
founder
Changpeng
Zhao,
step
down.
Zhao
pleaded
guilty
to
separate
charges
and
is
currently
scheduled
to
be
sentenced
in
late
April.
In
a
statement,
a
Binance
spokesperson
said
the
exchange
was
accepting
responsibility
through
the
plea
deal,
adding
that
the
exchange
had
improved
its
know-your-customer
and
anti-money-laundering
compliance
in
recent
years.
“We
are
gratified
by
the
recognition
we
have
received
from
regulators
regarding
our
cooperation
and
significantly
enhanced
compliance,”
the
statement
said.
“We
look
forward
in
the
coming
months
to
continuing
to
build
on
our
efforts
to
set
the
industry
standard
for
compliance,
security,
and
transparency.”
A
DOJ
spokesperson
declined
to
comment.
In
a
sentencing
memo
ahead
of
the
hearing,
prosecutors
wrote
that
the
agreement
“reflects
the
nature
and
circumstances”
of
Binance’s
alleged
conduct.
“Critically,
the
agreed-upon
sentence
will
promote
specific
and
general
deterrence.
As
part
of
its
plea
agreement,
Binance
has
agreed
to
take
substantial
measures
to
ensure
its
ongoing
compliance
with
U.S.
law.
And
the
significant
sentence
agreed
to
here
demonstrates
to
other
financial
institutions
that
may
seek
to
break
the
law
under
the
guise
of
‘innovation’
that
there
will
be
serious
consequences
for
their
criminal
actions,”
the
memo
said.