Binance hires former Dubai Financial Services officer to boost regulatory compliance

Even as it seems like Binance’s regulatory hurdles have somewhat slowed down, the top cryptocurrency exchange is continuing to push farther towards achieving complete regulatory compliance.

In a bid to achieve the same, the company appointed Mark McGinness, former head of international relations at the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), as its chief regulatory liaison officer, according to a company statement.

Binance noted in the statement that McGinness will reaffirm the company’s commitment towards working more closely with regulators globally, as it tries to navigate the regulatory landmine it has recently found itself in. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) was quoted as saying,

“Mark joining our leadership is not only a huge step forward for Binance, but the industry as a whole, as we work to grow the industry responsibly with the support of regulators and policymakers across the globe.”

The new appointee has over 30 years of regulatory and compliance experience, as he was the was head of international relations and advisor to the chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

He also held advisory positions as a subject expert for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank before joining DFSA, according to Binance.

This is only the first in a string of new appointments the company has undertaken in the past few months to bolster its regulatory compliance strategy. These include former US Treasury Criminal Investigator Greg Monahan, who was recently appointed as Global Money Laundering Reporting Officer (GMLRO), along with Special Agents from the Internal Revenue Service.

The statement noted that in totality, the exchange has grown its international compliance team and advisory board by 500% since 2020. Such organizational reshuffling had to take place owing to the growing list of regulatory bodies worldwide that had either issued warnings, investigations, or bans against the exchange in the past few months.

These include countries like Cayman Islands, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among others. The exchange has also been forced to cease several of its different offerings worldwide in order to comply with local regulations.

Just yesterday, the exchange announced that it will be closing down the yuan trading feature on its customer-to-customer platform post 31st December due to the fresh ban China has issued against the cryptocurrency industry. Last week, the company had also ceased futures, options, margin, and leveraged token products in South Africa due to regulatory concerns, just as it has in several other regions.