- Binance stated that the money-laundering investigation in France was a regular on-site visit
- The exchange stated that the investigation was part of the rules for financial institutions but did not specify the matter of the investigation
Binance – the world’s largest crypto exchange – has been in the spotlight ever since its face-off with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) began. In the latest development, reports claimed that the exchange was under investigation by French regulatory authorities for money laundering. The exchange was quick to respond to the news.
The crypto platform stated that the investigation was, in fact, an on-site visit by the regulators. Binance also claimed that this procedure was part of the rules of the land, adding that every financial institution was subjected to it. The exchange, however, did not specify the subject matter of investigation conducted by the law enforcement agency.
Nonetheless, it assured that its customer information was “held securely”. The exchange further added that authorities could access it only through “documented appropriate justification”. The statement also read,
“We had an on-site visit last week by the relevant authorities. Binance, as always, was fully collaborative and we met our obligations accordingly. We continue to work closely with regulators and law enforcement agencies on all ongoing compliance requirements to uphold high standards.”
Moreover, even the CEO of Binance – Changpeng Zhao also known as CZ spoke about the matter on Twitter. Terming the reports as FUD, the CEO stated that the “surprise visit” was not “news”. He also said,
“Binance France cooperated fully. Binance also isn’t the only crypto business inspected. This happened to other well known crypto businesses in Paris too. Binance France continues to be our flagship center in Europe.”
More setbacks for Binance?
Subsequently, Binance announced that it would exit from The Netherlands. The crypto exchange announced that it was unable to register as a Virtual Asset Service Provider in the region. The exchange has already stopped onboarding new users and starting tomorrow users will only be able to use the withdrawal service. The announcement on the same read,
“Binance has been in a comprehensive registration application process as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) with the Dutch regulator. Although we explored many alternative avenues to service Dutch residents in compliance with Dutch regulations, unfortunately this has not resulted in a VASP registration in the Netherlands at this time.”
Binance currently has a presence in multiple European countries. This includes France, which once served as its headquarters, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Spain, and Lithuania.
Notably, the news comes days after it was reported that the exchange has applied to deregister in Cyprus. While no official announcement was made on this, the move to backtrack its efforts for the island was found on the Securities websites.
The registration covered its services to convert fiat and crypto, sell digital assets, and custody cryptocurrencies. Moreover, reports claimed that Binance had, in fact, never kickstarted its business services in the region.
