US To Investigate Binance Related To Money Laundering Allegations

A federal prosecutor working for the U.S. Department of Justice asked Binance crypto exchange to provide records related to money laundering investigations. This includes communications between key people within the company, including Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ).

It is according to the request of December 2020, which remained unseen until recently. A representative working for the Money Laundering Department of the Justice Department asked global crypto exchange Binance to voluntarily submit documents related to 13 top executives working for the company.

Binance Investigation Continues

Although the initial request to Binance took place almost two years ago, investigations are ongoing, according to Reuters news outlets, with prosecutors particularly interested in whether Binance violated the Secrecy Act. Bank or not, which is the same law that BitMEX executives broke earlier this year.

Patrick Hillmann, Binance’s Chief Communications Officer, commented:

“Regulators around the world are reaching out to every major crypto exchange to understand the industry better. This is a standard process for regulated organizations. We currently work with agencies on a regular basis to answer any questions they may have.”

However, Binance has yet to respond to the request for 2020 and no further details are available.

Could CZ Be Detained?

In 2021, BitMEX settled a lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), fined $100 million, and ordered Arthur Hayes to be detained at home for six months.

However, it appears that the Justice Department wants to replicate Binance and CZ with similar litigation as BitMEX, which could end up with CZ being held in custody and awaiting trial.