Binance plunges into crisis as senior execs quit over CEO Changpeng Zhao’s response to Justice Department investigation

luck It was learned that senior figures, including General Counsel Han Ng, Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillman, and Senior Vice President of Compliance Stephen Christie, told Zhao this week that they were leaving the company. Their departure follows the recent exit of Matthew Price, a former IRS agent hired by Binance in 2021 to oversee global investigations and intelligence.

The executives’ decision to leave the company represents a management and strategic crisis for Binance at a time when it is facing massive regulatory pressure. The situation is also likely to add to this pressure given that the departures are from legal and compliance units that deal directly with regulators.

Binance immediately responded to a request for comment on the departures.

According to a person at Binance familiar with the situation, the executives chose to leave due to Zhao’s response to an ongoing investigation by the Justice Department. Multiple outlets have reported that the investigation, which has allegedly been underway for over a year, relates to Binance’s attempts to defraud US regulators as well as alleged money laundering and sanctions violations on the company’s platform.

Binance is already the subject of serious regulatory lawsuits filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and rumors have circulated that a DOJ criminal complaint against both the company and Zhao is imminent.

Multiple US investigations – along with others in Europe, Australia and elsewhere – have led to rumors that Zhao may step down as part of an effort to help Binance weather the regulatory storm. In June, Bloomberg published a lengthy profile of Richard Teng, a fast-rising executive with experience at Binance, describing him as Zhao’s “heir apparent” as the company mulls succession options.

But so far, Zhao, a nomadic tech genius fluent in Western and Asian culture, has given no indication he’s willing to step down. Zhao did not immediately respond to a Twitter direct message inquiry about the executives’ departure.

Binance is still by far the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, but in recent months its market share has begun to decline, likely as a result of regulatory pressure and the decision by banks in the US, Europe and elsewhere to cut the company. Access to fiat currencies.