US authorities have sent subpoenas to American hedge funds and market-making firms dealing with the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, seeking records of their communications with the exchange.
according to saturday report good From The Washington Post, the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington in Seattle has sent subpoenas to investment firms linked to Binance, asking them to share records of their communications with the platform.
Legal experts have reportedly said that the summons does not mean that the authorities are likely to press charges against the exchange. “Prosecutors are still discussing a possible settlement with Binance and weighing whether they have enough evidence to bring charges against the company,” the post said.
The summons are part of a larger investigation into possible violations of money-laundering laws by the world’s largest crypto exchange, which was previously Reported Last June by Bloomberg. According to the report, the SEC is also investigating whether Binance’s initial coin offering of its BNB token in 2017 was an unregistered security offering.
The federal investigation into Binance comes at a time when the crypto industry is grappling with an unfriendly stance from regulators around the world. The recent explosion of FTX, which was once the world’s third largest crypto exchange, has further raised concerns about unregulated online marketplaces where digital assets are bought and sold.
Patrick Hillman, Binance’s chief strategy officer, reportedly said that the exchange is talking to regulators around the world “almost every day.” Acknowledging that the exchange had some shortcomings in cooperating and complying with regulatory policies in the early years, Hillman said that Binance is now very serious about compliance. he said:
“Over the past two years, the company has completely changed its currency. Now that we have those resources, we are easily one of the most active parties to identify, freeze and recover funds [laundered by criminals],
In mid-December, Reuters Reported That Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao may also face charges of money laundering conspiracy and other violations in the US. According to the report, Binance has been under investigation by the DOJ since 2018. The investigation reportedly focuses on money laundering conspiracy, unlicensed money transmission and breach of criminal sanctions.
A possible plea deal has reportedly been discussed between DOJ officials and Binance lawyers.
Notably, Binance is not the only major exchange that has been accused of violating anti-money laundering laws. Just last week, Coinbase Agreed Paying a total of $100 million to settle a complaint related to “certain historical deficiencies” in its regulatory compliance work.
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