World-leading virtual asset exchange Binance replaced its chief financial officer (CFO) just a week after suffering a massive hack resulting in billions in losses.
However, the company stated that this personnel change is unrelated to the hacking incident and that the handover has been in preparation for the past six months.
According to local and foreign media reports on the 7th, Binance Co-CEO Yi He announced through a statement that CFO Kaiser Ng is leaving the company to pursue new ventures, with Justin Yek appointed as his successor.
Co-CEO Yi He explained regarding Ng’s departure that the transition plan had been underway for the past six months.
According to the company’s explanation, the CFO replacement was scheduled prior to the large-scale hacking incident that occurred late last month.
Ng worked at Binance for over five years and served as CFO starting in January 2022. Prior to joining Binance, he worked at the virtual asset exchange Kraken.
His successor, Yek, previously served as the vice president of finance at payment platform Airwallex.
Binance suffered a hack on the 29th of last month, resulting in the theft of approximately $6.34 billion in virtual assets.
According to the company, hackers infiltrated employee computers months in advance using fake job offers and files containing malicious code.
Binance announced it would fully compensate affected customers for their losses.
Withdrawals, which were suspended immediately following the hack, resumed on the 1st.
Within hours of the withdrawal resumption, approximately $3.6 billion experienced net outflows, and the cumulative net outflow tracked by Binance through the 2nd reached $4.72 billion.
This represents about 3% of the exchange’s deposited assets.
Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng stated at the Hong Kong Fintech Week on the 3rd that hourly fund inflows and outflows had nearly normalized.
He explained that the company covered 95% of the affected assets using corporate funds and user protection funds, while securing the remainder through over-the-counter transactions.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) named the North Korean hacking group ‘TraderTraitor’ as the mastermind behind the Binance hack on the 31st of last month.
North Korea denied these claims.
Kim Yo-jong, department deputy director of the Workers’ Party of Korea, dismissed the FBI’s announcement as ‘absurd fabrications’ in a statement on the 3rd, claiming that the U.S. is linking international cybercrimes to North Korea.
