Bloomberg: US Department of Justice opens investigation into Binance
The US Department of Justice and the US federal tax authorities have opened an investigation into the financial practices on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. That writes the Bloomberg news agency.
According to Bloomberg, federal investigators specializing in money laundering and tax evasion detection have collected information about the cryptocurrency exchange from individuals who know the company inside out.
A Binance spokesperson declined to comment on the matter, but told The Verge that the company is very strict about their money laundering policies and provides tools that financial institutions can use to detect and report suspicious transactions. “We take our legal responsibility very seriously,” it sounds.
It is not the only investigation currently underway into Binance. The U.S. stock watchdog Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened an investigation into Binance in March to determine whether Binance allowed its U.S. clients to trade investment instruments subject to U.S. law when it was not licensed at the time. Binance has not yet been formally charged.
According to cryptocurrency analysis firm Chainalysis, approximately $756 million in criminal transactions passed through the cryptocurrency exchange in 2019. Binance has been the largest cryptocurrency exchange since April 2021. At the time of writing, the exchange handles approximately $61 billion in trading volume.
Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, said on Twitter that he thought the title of Bloomberg’s article was “bad.” He emphasizes that Binance collaborated with government agencies to fight bad actors.
Update, 21.00: Binance CEO’s comment has been added. Thanks to user Mayonnaise for his response.