Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by market cap, has named a board of directors for the first time following a year marked with changes and legal turmoil.
Binance Forms Inaugural Seven-Person Board Of Directors
In a bid to reinvent itself after pleading guilty late last year to anti-money laundering charges and sanctions violations, Binance has taken the step of establishing a seven-person board of directors.
As per Binance’s website, the company’s board of directors is chaired by Gabriel Abed, the former ambassador of Barbados to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Other notable figures on the board include Binance’s chief executive officer Richard Teng; Binance co-founder Heina Chen; Bayview Acquisition Corp CEO Xin Wang; PlaNet Finance founder Arnaud Ventura, Roger Wang, and Rock He.
“We are pleased to share that Binance has established a new Board of Directors,” a Binance representative stated. “The Board consists of seven total Directors, three of whom are Independent Directors. We are proud to have some of the world’s strongest Web3 leaders advising our company as we enter our next chapter.”
Commenting on the move, Austin Campbell, the founder of Zero Knowledge Consulting, noted that having a board of directors largely comprised of company executives shows “resistance to outside control and oversight.” Campbell believes the absence of many independent members with deep knowledge of compliance and financial risks “is not ideal”. Nonetheless, he acknowledges that the move is definitely a step in the right direction, compared to not having a board of directors at all.
Binance’s Legal Setbacks
Binance was slapped with an eye-popping $4.3 billion fine by the U.S. Department of Justice in November for flouting anti-money laundering controls, conspiracy to conduct an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and sanctions violations after a years-long investigation. Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was ousted from the exchange as part of the settlement.
After CZ resigned as CEO of Binance, he handed the reins to Richard Teng — who previously served as Binance’s Global Head of Regional Markets. Zhao’s criminal sentencing is scheduled for April 30. He faces up to 18 months in federal prison.
And then there’s whatever is happening in Nigeria. A month ago, Nigeria detained two Binance exes, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, without levying any criminal charges against them. Anjarwalla, who holds dual British and Kenyan citizenship, escaped under bizarre circumstances, while Gambaryan is still imprisoned. As part of the probe, Nigeria also ordered Binance to hand over information on its top 100 users in the West African nation and their transaction histories for the last six months.
