The legal troubles at Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange, continue to mount, a new report suggests that the exchange has been under investigation in France since early 2022.
According to a report published by French daily Le Monde, a branch of a France-based cryptocurrency exchange has been the subject of a preliminary investigation – by the Financial Judicial Investigation Service, a specialized multi-regional jurisdiction in Paris. Under the guidance of the 2022 - from February 2022. According to reports, the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office cited "the illegal exercise of the functions of a digital asset service provider (PSAN) and the aggravation of money laundering by participating in investment operations, concealment, conversion, the latter being carried out by criminals to generate profits. "violations" as the basis of the investigation.
Binance reportedly failed to follow or adhere to “know your customer” procedures to check users and potential money laundering. According to reports, the cryptocurrency exchange failed to obtain a business license and illegally provided services to French customers. Since 2019, cryptocurrency exchanges must be approved by the Authority for Financial Markets (AMF) to operate. However, Binance, which has been operating in France since 2020, reportedly did not receive AMF approval until May 2022.
“Binance devotes significant time and resources to working with law enforcement globally. We comply with all laws in France, as we do in every other market we operate in. We will not comment on the details of enforcement or regulatory investigations, other than Said that information about our users is held securely and is only given to government officials upon receipt of appropriate written certification." The report of the French investigation comes within weeks of the lawsuit being filed against the US cryptocurrency exchange. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed 13 charges against the US subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange Binance.US and CEO Changpeng Zhao.
