In a scathing critique, former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official John Reed Stark has accused cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), of alleged criminal violations. Stark’s comments highlight the serious nature of these alleged violations and dismiss attempts by what he refers to as the “Big Crypto Cartel” to downplay the significance of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) prosecutions.Stark emphasizes that the charges against Binance and CZ go beyond mere grift and chicanery, encompassing matters of life, death, murder, child sex abuse, and other forms of mayhem. He specifically points out the alleged failure of Binance to implement comprehensive programs to prevent and report suspicious transactions involving terrorists, ransomware attackers, money launderers, and other criminals. Stark mentions the failure to identify and report transactions associated with terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda, ISIS, Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).Binance is accused of enabling illicit actors to freely conduct transactions on its platform by neglecting anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions obligations. This includes facilitating transactions involving child sexual exploitation material and darknet markets. Stark further highlights Binance’s alleged failure to report over 100,000 suspicious transactions, including those associated with ransomware attacks, terrorist financing, and illicit activities on the darknet.Despite being a major recipient of ransomware proceeds, Binance purportedly failed to report these transactions to the appropriate authorities. The exchange is also accused of facilitating transactions involving illegal narcotics, counterfeit goods, fraud-related activities, and other contraband. Stark points out that Binance was compelled to make a $4.3 billion payment to the US government, reflecting the egregious nature of its conduct, the high volume of transactions, and senior management’s involvement.Overall, Stark’s remarks paint a grim picture of Binance’s alleged activities, characterizing it as a global felonious enterprise responsible for a devastating crime wave.

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Information	Details
Geography	Global
Countries	🇺🇸
Sentiment	negative
Relevance Score	1
People	Changpeng Zhao, John Reed Stark
Companies	US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Department of Justice (DOJ), Binance
Currencies	None
Securities	None