Changpeng Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance, said he is the "only person" to face jail for a single "Banking Secrecy Act violation" related to unregistered U.S. operations and inadequate anti-money laundering measures. Zhao made these remarks during Binance Blockchain Week.
"For this particular violation, which is a Banking Secrecy Act violation, we didn't register a financial company in the U.S. when we had U.S. users," said Zhao. "And we failed to implement an adequate anti-money laundering program. For this particular violation, no one ever went to jail for a single violation, which is my charge. So I'm the only one who went to jail for this in U.S. history."
According to data from Chainalysis and the United Nations, traditional finance accounts for over 99.97% of global money laundering activities, while cryptocurrency constitutes only 0.03%.
A persona report indicates that $300 billion is laundered annually through the United States, accounting for 15-30% of all global money laundering. In 2020 alone, approximately $227.8 million was laundered in the U.S. The most prominent money laundering case in the U.S. involved Wachovia Bank, which facilitated illicit transactions totaling $380 billion under the guise of a drug cartel.
The report highlights enforcement challenges, noting that only 990 offenders were recorded out of 76,538 cases, illustrating significant gaps in the prosecution and tracking of money laundering activities.
Binance Blockchain Week is a conference bringing together innovators, founders, investors, regulators, and officials to discuss the future of blockchain and Web3. The theme of this year's conference is "Momentum." According to the event's website: "Momentum propels our industry, not only taking us through challenges but also leading us to our biggest achievements."
Binance operates as a major global blockchain platform with the largest digital asset exchange by trading volume. The company offers a wide range of financial products and services and is known for its comprehensive ecosystem, which includes educational resources, research initiatives, charitable efforts, and an NFT marketplace.