This Is Not a Disincentive to Prosecutions

It appears that the last big player showing any signs of solvency in the crypto space, Binance, is attempting to negotiate a plea deal with the Justice Department over possible money laundering.

Binance has apparently been seeking lenience from prosecutors because, "A criminal prosecution would wreak havoc on a crypto market already in a prolonged downturn."

Gee, doing further damage to a Ponzi scheme whose primary use is ransoms and money laundering.

To quote Uncle Remus, "Don't throw me into the briar patch."

Splits between U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors are delaying the conclusion of a long-running criminal investigation into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, four people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

The investigation began in 2018 and is focused on Binance's compliance with U.S. anti-money laundering laws and sanctions, these people said. Some of the at least half dozen federal prosecutors involved in the case believe the evidence already gathered justifies moving aggressively against the exchange and filing criminal charges against individual executives including founder Changpeng Zhao, said two of the sources. Others have argued taking time to review more evidence, the sources said.

The inquiry involves prosecutors at three Justice Department offices: the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, known as MLARS, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington in Seattle and the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. Justice Department regulations say that money laundering charges against a financial institution must be approved by the MLARS chief. Leaders from the other two offices, along with higher-level DOJ officials, would likely also have to sign off on any action against Binance, three of the sources said.

………

Binance's defense attorneys at U.S. law firm Gibson Dunn have held meetings in recent months with Justice Department officials, the four people said. Among Binance's arguments: A criminal prosecution would wreak havoc on a crypto market already in a prolonged downturn. The discussions included potential plea deals, according to three of the sources.

(emphasis mine)

Seriously.  Burn it all down, bury it, and then sow the earth with salt.