VIP clients of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange learned in advance about the upcoming settlement of the company’s relations with the US authorities for a total unprecedented amount of $4.3 billion, Bloomberg sources say.

Clients were warned during a private dinner at Singapore’s exclusive 1880 Club two months before the US Department of Justice officially announced charges against Binance. This allowed VIPs to gain insight into Binance’s legal situation and take action in advance.

Participants at the dinner party began asking Binance representatives about the nuances of the company’s legal problems: whether the trading platform would be able to pay the fine. Some VIP guests, sources say, were convinced that the company would easily pay the $4.3 billion sum.

Binance’s then-CEO Changpeng Zhao was not present at the event. Instead, the guests were received by the current head of the company, Richard Teng.

Zhao and Binance co-founder Yi He did not appear in person at Binance’s November blockchain event in Istanbul. Since May, Zhao has regularly suggested that fellow Binance executives resign, sources told Bloomberg.

Previously, a Seattle court banned the former CEO of Binance from leaving the United States. Judge Richard A. Jones said Changpeng Zhao is likely to remain on American soil until his final sentencing in February 2024.

Binance.US recently reported that Changpeng Zhao resigned from all leadership positions at the American subsidiary of the crypto platform and lost his tools to influence the management of the company.