Binance Responds to U.S. Senators Letter, Excludes Financial Data
Zach Anderson Mar 20, 2023 09:04
Binance has responded to a letter from U.S. Senators sent earlier this month requesting information about the crypto exchange’s operations in the country, including its balance sheet. Despite omitting financial data from the letter, Binance reportedly sent the information to U.S. regulators. In the 14-page document, Binance's chief strategy officer, Patrick Hillman, addressed the exchange's compliance history and recognized previous mistakes while claiming the firm has built solid Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering policies in recent years. However, the response failed to address the senators’ concerns about Binance’s lack of transparency.
Binance has been the subject of regulatory scrutiny on a global scale, with a number of nations implementing limits or completely banning its services as a result of allegations of regulatory infractions. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States initiated an investigation into Binance.US in February over trading entities that are reportedly tied to Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, the CEO of Binance. An investigation report indicated that Binance was likely responsible for the transfer of around 400 million dollars in money from a Binance.US account to a trading business run by Zhao.
In their letter, the senators from the United States, lead by Elizabeth Warren, expressed their worries over the operations of Binance and asked for the firms' balance sheets, AML rules, and documentation regarding the link between Binance and Binance.US. The senators charged that Binance and its American affiliate intended to circumvent authorities in the United States, evade sanctions, and assist the laundering of at least $10 billion in illicit funds. Previous statements made by Binance indicate that the two businesses are distinct organizations, each with its own autonomous management and activities.
Binance's Hillman mentioned in his response to the senators' letter that the cryptocurrency exchange uses both in-house and third-party tools to monitor user transactions and profiles in real time. As a result of alerts generated by transaction monitoring, Binance was able to halt more than 54,000 transactions between August 2021 and November 2022. Binance didn't address the senators' concerns about the exchange's lack of openness, despite the fact that it had already provided the financial data that had been sought to the U.S. authorities. Instead, it omitted the information from the letter it had sent to the senators.
As a whole, it is probable that Binance's answer is an effort to soothe worries and strengthen its relationship with U.S. authorities, who have been clamping down on cryptocurrency exchanges and other participants in the sector. Yet, Binance's regulatory difficulties are far from being resolved, and it is possible that the exchange may be subjected to more scrutiny in the months ahead as authorities work to assure compliance with AML and other legislation.
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