Binance Under Investigation For Alleged Money Laundering In France

By Kevin • June 19, 2023 10:14 pm • Comments

Binance has been facing a lot of legal and regulatory challenges around the world at the moment which could impact the crypto landscape.

The crypto exchange has previously been targeted by the SEC due to accusations of dealing with unregistered securities which is the same type of lawsuit that Coinbase is facing.

In addition to pressure from the SEC, Binance also finds itself being accused by French authorities for money laundering.

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This investigation was started by a government entity called the Service d’Enquêtes Judiciaires des Finances [SEJF] where it was revealed that it was started back in February 2022.

Whether or not there is enough evidence to prove this accusation is still to be determined.

Watcher.guru reports:

The Paris public prosecutor further added,“The documentary and computer elements collected during the search will now have to be the subject of an in-depth study.”

Will Binance bid adiue to France?

It is important to mention that Binance has obtained registration as a digital asset service provider [DASP] with the French financial regulator.

This license was granted to the exchange in May 2022. Furthermore, during its announcement regarding its withdrawal from the Dutch market, Binance noted its commitment to achieving compliance with MiCA. However, given the ongoing investigation by French regulators into alleged money laundering activities linked to Binance, there is skepticism within the community about the firm’s ability to obtain a MiCA license in the future.

While the community sought clarity, Binance France’s President, David Prinçay took to Twitter to address the issue.

Binance’s France’s President David Prinçay specifically shared with the public that Binance has been cooperative with authorities and have made all efforts to meet compliance requirements.

Still, it seems that the popular exchange still finds itself in legal trouble despite what it says which may indicate that there is a lot of legal pushback against crypto.

With that being said, exchanges like Binance and Coinbase have recently been diversifying their operations to overseas.

This is part of a strategy to ensure that the exchanges are able to prosper despite unfavorable regulatory conditions in specific regions of the world.

As a result, the long term growth of the crypto industry will likely continue due to its global and decentralized nature.

CoinDesk reports:

“We continue to work closely with regulators and law enforcement agencies on all ongoing compliance requirements to uphold high standards,” a Binance spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Binance invests considerable time and resources into cooperating with law enforcement globally.

We abide by all laws in France, just as we do in every other market we operate.

We will not comment on the specifics of law enforcement or regulatory investigations except to say that information about our users is held securely and only provided to government officials upon receipt of documented appropriate justification.”

After publication, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Changpeng “CZ” Zhao tweeted to confirm there had been a “surprise visit” by the authorities within the last couple of weeks, but that other unnamed crypto firms had been subject to similar treatment. France continued to be the company’s flagship center in Europe, he added.

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