DOJ announces extensive monitoring of Binance operations

Binance’s compliance commitments with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) were made public on December 8, revealing significant government oversight of cryptocurrency exchange operations and business activities.

In an analysis shared on X (formerly Twitter), former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official John Reed Stark said: airtight The “exhaustive list” of Binance’s new compliance commitments is a “consulting firm’s wish list” of what would lead to the platform being shut down.

Binance’s new obligations are outlined in the 11-page document, which states it will “provide access to documents, records and resources upon request from authorities, including access to information relating to former employees, agents, intermediaries, consultants, representatives, distributors, and licenses.” , contractors, suppliers and joint venture partners,” said Stark.

Several divisions of the DOJ Criminal Division closely monitor the exchange’s activities, including the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Division. national security sector; Counterintelligence and Export Control Division; and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

As previously disclosed, Binance’s plea deal with the U.S. government also includes five years of supervision by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Because of the unprecedented oversight of its activities, the cost of the exchange is likely to run into the millions of dollars. According to Stark:

“Binance’s settlement requires 24/7 exposure of the company and its customers to the Department of Justice, FinCEN, and all types of financial regulators and law enforcement, providing years of immediate access, audits, inspections, and investigations.” Endoscope.”

Related: Binance is now ‘completely different’: Interview with CEO Richard Teng

Binance and its former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao admitted to violating U.S. laws on money laundering and terrorist financing and agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine on November 21. Agreed.

SEC points to DOJ evidence to support case against Binance

Binance’s recently released court records are part of a new filing with the U.S. SEC detailing enforcement actions and settlements with the Department of Justice (DOJ) aimed at strengthening its case against the exchange and Zhao.

The SEC filed 13 charges against Binance on June 5, accusing it of unregistered offer and sale exchanges of BNB (BNB) and Binance USD (BUSD) tokens, Simple Earn and BNB Vault products, and staking programs. The SEC also alleges that Binance has not registered its Binance.com platform as an exchange or broker-dealer clearing agent.

In a recent filing, regulators are asking the court to take “judicial notice” of the facts presented in Binance’s settlement. “What this means is that the SEC wants judges to declare facts presented in evidence as fact without formal presentation of the evidence,” Stark said.

Through this settlement, the SEC challenges Binance’s decision to dismiss the case and undermines Binance’s claims about its presence and operations in the United States over the past several years.

According to the settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Binance had more than 3 million US customers by March 2018. As of June 2019, approximately 30% of Binance’s web traffic came from the United States.

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