Binance was asked by the US to provide documents for a money-laundering investigation. Federal prosecutors submitted the request in the latter half of 2020.
Changpeng Zhao co-founded Binance in 2017, the company has surpassed competitors because to the charismatic tech executive’s love of boosting tokens on Twitter and in media interviews.
U.S. federal prosecutors requested that Binance produce internal records pertaining to its money-laundering checks and correspondence involving CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao in late 2020, according to a specific source obtained by Reuters on Thursday.
he Justice Department requested that the business turn over communications between Zhao and other executives regarding the identification of unlawful transactions and client acquisition in the United States.
Binance was ordered to voluntarily provide up messages from Zhao and 12 other officials and partners to the Justice Department’s money laundering division on topics like the exchange’s identification of illicit transactions and the solicitation of U.S. clients. Additionally, it was looking for any corporate records that contained directives to “delete, alter, or remove documents from Binance’s archives” or “transfer from the United States.”
The company, like the sector it serves, has thrived mainly outside the purview of governmental regulation. Despite being based in Singapore and having a Cayman Islands office, Binance claims to not have a single corporate headquarters. In its analysis of transactions last year, Chainalysis Inc., a blockchain forensics company whose clients include U.S. federal agencies, found that more money linked to illegal activities went via Binance than any other cryptocurrency exchange.
The U.S. government is concerned that Americans who have made large sums of money speculating on the market’s stratospheric ascent are dodging taxes and that cryptocurrencies are being used to disguise criminal transactions, such as theft and drug trades.
Another story today about a crypto company receiving an inquiry from a regulator. A request to VOLUNTARILY share certain information back in 2020, which we did. Important for the industry to build trust with regulators.
My chat messages are semi-public anyway. pic.twitter.com/h35Xd4tZhf
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) September 1, 2022
Despite the fact that Wall Street is progressively accepting Bitcoin and other tokens in the midst of a worldwide investing frenzy, these worries have kept the sector from becoming a widely accepted form of currency.
