Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has resigned, admitting to money laundering violations.

The Justice Department is imposing a $4.3 billion penalty on Binance for enabling users to bypass global sanctions, including facilitating transactions with US and Iranian users, as well as users in Syria and Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions.

The new CEO is Richard Teng. The Justice Department also revealed that Binance made it easy for criminals and terrorists to move money, requiring the exchange to report suspicious activity to federal authorities.

The legal challenges follow US regulators’ attempts to ban Binance in March, alleging illegal operations and violations of financial laws and anti-money laundering rules.

In June, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed another lawsuit accusing Binance of disregarding investor protection rules.

US authorities aim to address fraud and issues in the crypto industry, emphasizing this scrutiny after the collapse of Binance rival FTX and the recent guilty verdict for FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, on fraud charges.