Summary
TLDR: Binance added three new board members, including Gabriel Abed, Xin Wang, and Arnaud Ventura. The company is facing potential penalties and legal action in Nigeria and settled with the US Department of Justice for over $4 billion. Compliance program and new board members are part of the settlement.
Key Points
1. Binance quietly updated its site with three new board members on Monday. The board added Gabriel Abed, Xin Wang, and Arnaud Ventura as independent members.
2. Gabriel Abed, the chairman of the board, founded Bitt and previously served as the Ambassador of Barbados to the United Arab Emirates. Xin Wang is the CEO of publicly-listed Bayview Acquisition Corporation and a lawyer with licenses to work in California, England, and Wales. Arnaud Ventura is a partner at Gojo & Company in Tokyo and chairman of the board of Binance France.
3. The addition of new board members comes as Binance faces potential penalties and legal action from Nigeria, following an investigation into $26 billion passing through Binance Nigeria. Binance settled with the US Department of Justice for over $4 billion late last year, with co-founder Changpeng Zhao stepping down and pleading guilty to charges. Binance is now required to enact a compliance program and meet compliance and disclosure requirements.