Page 34 - 期货和衍生品行业监管动态（2023年11月刊）

期货和衍生品行业监管动态

charges the CFTC brought against Zhao and Binance for knowingly disregarding

provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) to profit from their operation of an

illegal digital assets derivative exchange.

The proposed consent order requires Binance to disgorge $1.35 billion of ill-gotten

gains and pay a $1.35 billion civil monetary penalty to the CFTC, and obliges Zhao to

pay a $150 million civil monetary penalty to the CFTC. In addition, the order

permanently enjoins Zhao and Binance from willfully evading the CEA; acting as an

unregistered futures commission merchant (FCM); operating an illegal digital asset

derivatives exchange; and failing to have adequate know-your-customer compliance

controls among other illegal activities in the order. The defendants must also certify that

certain remedial measures have been implemented and Binance must further certify it

will take certain remedial steps in the future, including no longer allowing “sub-

accounts” to circumvent Binance’s newly implemented compliance controls.

The proposed settlement and remedies are subject to court approval. The CFTC
submitted the proposed consent order to U.S. District Judge Manish Shah today for

review.

Also, today, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of the

Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign

Assets Control (OFAC) announced charges against Binance Holdings.

“Binance’s activities undermined the foundation of safe and sound financial

markets by intentionally avoiding basic, fundamental obligations that apply to

exchanges, all the while collecting approximately $1.35 billion in trading fees from U.S.

customers,” said CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam. “American investors, small and

large, have demonstrated eagerness to incorporate digital asset products into their

portfolios. It is our duty to ensure that when they do so, the full protections afforded by

our regulatory oversight are in place, and that illegal and illicit conduct is swiftly

addressed. When, as here, an entity goes even further, deliberately avoiding to employ

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