Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as “CZ,” was sentenced to four months in prison earlier this year for his role in facilitating widespread money laundering on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
In November 2023, Binance along with then-CEO Zhao, admitted to charges of money laundering for allowing international customers to conduct transactions in violation of US sanctions. As part of the agreement, Binance consented to pay $4.3 billion in fines, while Zhao agreed to pay a $50 million fine and step down as CEO.
Richard Teng, Binance’s regional director and a former Abu Dhabi regulator, has since taken over the role of CEO. He is implementing significant changes within the firm, including the search for a headquarters, which marks a departure from Binance’s previous stance that a decentralized company does not require a physical office. This move appears to signal to authorities that Binance is restructuring following Zhao’s departure.
Do Kwon, co-founder of the crypto company Terraform Labs, once held a prominent place in the crypto industry but is now awaiting extradition to either the U.S. or South Korea, where he may face criminal charges.
Terraform Labs collapsed in 2022, dramatically impacting the cryptocurrency sector. The company’s stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), was linked to the cryptocurrency Terra (LUNA), such that $1 of UST was always equivalent to $1 worth of LUNA. However, in May 2022, the value of LUNA plummeted from over $120 per coin to nearly zero, resulting in a loss of over $50 billion in UST/LUNA market capitalization and triggering a broader crypto market crash that wiped out $400 billion in value.
The SEC has filed a case against Terraform and Kwon for the allegedly deceptive promotion and sale of crypto tokens, particularly the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST).
Kwon was arrested in March 2023 for forging travel documents while attempting to leave Montenegro. Earlier this year, he agreed to pay $4.47 billion to settle a civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.