Police in the United Arab Emirates detained two Binance employees at airports and questioned a third, as part of a fraud inquiry into funds moving through the exchange. All three have been released, and Binance says none of them were targets.
Key Takeaways
Two Binance employees were detained at U.A.E. airports and later released.A third Binance executive was questioned by police in July.Some employees were linked to a corporate bank account tied to the exchange.One of the two, a mid-level employee, was held overnight at a Sharjah police station this month after being stopped at the airport, according to people familiar with the inquiries. The other employee was stopped by police at a different Emirati airport around the same time. Four people described what happened on condition of anonymity because the police inquiry is still open.
A Binance spokesman was quoted as saying:
“A small number of our personnel were recently asked to provide standard statements to local authorities as part of routine inquiries relating to third-party fund flows.”
“Our employees were never the targets or subjects of these inquiries, and all who provided statements were promptly cleared and released,” the spokesperson added.
Why Some Employees Were Swept UpBinance keeps a corporate bank account in the Emirates that handles customer deposits and withdrawals, and a number of employees are named on it. Police appear to have questioned some of those staff for that reason alone, according to one person familiar with the arrangement. It is still unclear what investigators are examining, although the fraud inquiries reportedly focus on customers, not the exchange itself.
The detentions have unsettled Binance employees, and the company asked the Emirati government this month for assistance, one of the people said. It also told officials it was concerned about employee safety in the country. Dubai authorities and the Emirati Ministry of Interior did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Binance’s Troubled History With Law Enforcement Deepening Ties to the Emirates Despite the Legal PressureThe investment and regulatory authorization have increased Binance’s financial and operational ties to the Emirates. European investigators have reported greater difficulty obtaining records from the company concerning suspected crimes over the past year, according to the Times. The shift followed a change in how Binance handles some law enforcement requests.
