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Lanon Wee

Binance CEO Change: CZ Pleads Guilty and Richard Teng is Named as Successor

At the hearing, he admitted to violating and causing a financial institution to violate the Bank Secrecy Act. He also agreed to pay a $50 million fine. Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, on Tuesday named Richard Teng, a former CEO of Abu Dhabi Global Market and Global Head of Regional Markets at Binance, the UAE capital's financial services regulator, as the new CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange he founded. After pleading guilty to federal money laundering charges and stepping down as the company's chief, Zhao expressed that he must take responsibility, and that it was "not easy to let go emotionally." Although Zhao was accused of violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions violations, the U.S. agencies did not allege Binance had misappropriated user funds or market manipulation. In light of the criminal charges brought against Binance- amounting to $4.3 billion in fines and forfeiture- Zhao agreed to plead guilty to violating and causing a financial institution to violate the Bank Secrecy Act and to pay a $50 million fine. In a post on X, Zhao described his successor Teng as a "highly qualified leader," and Teng himself expressed assurance that he was able to achieve the company's mission of financial freedom under Zhao and the leadership team's support. He added that his focus would be on providing security, transparency, compliance, and growth, for the company. Zhao further commented that he felt content being a "one-shot (lucky) entrepreneur" and that he was open to being a coach/mentor to upcoming entrepreneurs.

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