Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao
Changpeng Zhao, the visionary behind Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has received a pardon from former President Donald Trump.
Known in the crypto community as "CZ," Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 after admitting guilt to US money laundering violations.
Binance also accepted responsibility, resulting in a hefty $4.3 billion (£3.4 billion) fine after a US probe found that the platform enabled users to evade sanctions.
This pardon has reignited discussions about the administration's stance on cryptocurrency, especially considering the Trump family's growing investments in the sector.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt asserted that Zhao's charges under the Biden administration exemplify a "war on cryptocurrency," countering allegations that Trump's personal financial motivations influenced the pardon.
BNP Paribas shares fall after a US jury’s Sudan verdict
BNP Paribas shares plummeted by as much as 10 percent after a US jury determined that the French bank assisted Sudan's government in committing genocide by offering banking services that breached American sanctions. This raises concerns about potential additional legal repercussions for the bank.
The Manhattan federal jury ordered BNP Paribas to pay $20.5 million collectively to three Sudanese plaintiffs who testified regarding human rights violations under the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir. The Paris-based bank announced it would contest the ruling, stating, "This result is clearly wrong and ignores important evidence the bank was not permitted to introduce."
Traders and analysts suggested that ongoing uncertainty about potential further claims or penalties could continue to pressure the bank's stock.
Singapore jails ex-Citi banker over role in US$2.3 billion money laundering scandal
In Singapore’s most significant money laundering case, a former wealth banker at Citigroup received the harshest sentence for facilitating the transfer of illicit funds and hindering the course of justice.
Wang Qiming, previously a relationship manager at Citibank Singapore, was sentenced to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to four of ten charges. The prosecution recommended a sentence of 24 to 30 months, while Wang’s defense team advocated a lighter sentence of 7 to 11 months.
The prosecutor emphasized that Wang was aware of the critical nature of anti-money-laundering protocols but chose to create false documentation, thereby “flagrantly breaching” his responsibilities. In response, the defense argued that Wang did not gain personally from the laundered assets and that Citibank incurred “no direct loss.”
