Terror Victims Want Share of Binance’s $4.3 Billion Fine
Date: 2024-09-26 Author: Oliver Abernathy Categories: BUSINESS
Four people who have suffered from state terrorism or who represent the families of victims have sued the Justice Department, accusing it of failing to transfer funds from a $4.3 billion settlement with cryptocurrency exchange Binance to a fund for victims of state terrorism.
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 25 in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleges that the Justice Department failed to transfer or delayed transferring funds from the November settlement with Binance to the Fund for Victims of State Terrorism. By law, all proceeds from criminal cases and 75% of proceeds from civil cases like the Binance case must go to the fund, which is designed to compensate victims of state terrorism.
To date, the plaintiffs claim, the DOJ has only transferred $898.6 million to the fund and has said it plans to send about $1.5 billion to the fund for victims of crime, which the plaintiffs claim is illegal.
The lawsuit also asks the court to order the DOJ to send all proceeds from the Binance case to the Fund for Victims of State Terrorism.
In addition to the DOJ, the defendants include the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, and the U.S. Treasury Department and its agencies, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Binance Case Context
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance pleaded guilty in November 2023 to violating U.S. sanctions and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), agreeing to pay more than $4.3 billion in fines and forfeitures. The company's former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, also pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and agreed to pay a $50 million fine and step down as CEO.
Additionally, in May 2023, the Justice Department's National Security and Crime Divisions investigated Binance for providing services to Russian citizens after sanctions were imposed on Russia in April 2022.
