- The Binance cryptocurrency exchange is in trouble again as French authorities launch a fresh investigation into Binance.
- The exchange has allegedly failed to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering laws (AML) policies up until 2022.
Binance has been dealt another regulatory blow, but this time, the pushback is coming from France. The leading cryptocurrency exchange is once again in the news for allegedly failing to comply with regulatory policies.
According to France authorities, Binance did not comply with the country’s Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering laws (AML) procedures.
France alleges that Binance has carried out services with its French customers, outside the legal framework. This reportedly came to an end in 2022.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office has revealed that the crypto exchange will be investigated by the judicial investigation service of Finance, which is currently functioning under the guise of the specialized interregional jurisdiction of Paris.
KYC is the process taken to identify customers and verify their identity, in order to comply with global regulatory policies that include counter-terrorism and anti-money laundering. A lot of countries, including France, require cryptocurrency exchanges to carry out a Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure in a bid to minimize insecurity.
The investigation will center on money laundering, concealment and conversion, along with the exchange’s alleged involvement with illegal function of service providers on cryptocurrencies. Le Monde reported.
“Investigation relates on the one hand to acts of illegal exercise of the function of service provider on digital assets (PSAN), and on the other hand, acts of aggravated money laundering, by participating in investment operations, concealment, conversion, the latter being carried out by perpetrators of offenses having generated profits.”
Binance responds
The President of Binance France has taken to Twitter to officially address the new development
In response to the concerning development, David Pincay, the President of Binance France, explains that the exchange Binance took part in the obligatory on-site inspections by regulators. Pincay added that the exchange has remained fully collaborative and will continue to work closely with authorities.
“In France, on-site inspections by regulators and inspectors are part of the regulatory obligations that all financial institutions must comply with. We had a site visit last week by the competent authorities. Binance, as always, has been fully collaborative and fully met obligations. We continue to work closely with regulators and law enforcement agencies on all ongoing compliance requirements to maintain high standards.” Pincay tweeted.
En France, les inspections sur site des régulateurs et des inspecteurs font partie des obligations réglementaires auxquelles toutes les institutions financières doivent se conformer. Nous avons eu une visite sur site la semaine dernière par les autorités compétentes. Binance,…
— David Prinçay (@davidprincay) June 16, 2023
He added that Binance spends a significant amount of time and resources in complying with law enforcement bodies across the globe and France is not the exception, Pincay asserted. No further comments concerning regulatory investigations will be made, except the fact that the exchange is committed to securing its users’ information, Pincay concluded.
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