At the beginning of this week it was announced that Binance’s own stablecoin, BUSD, is being restricted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. But a lot didn’t go quite right at Binance in recent years. The company expects to receive a few more fines from it in the future other regulatory authorities Will get.
Binance evaded sanctions
There has been increasing pressure on crypto companies in recent times, as many of them do not fully comply with all regulations. For example, many companies have been fined for not being registered in the countries where they operate, including Binance. In the Netherlands, Binance has already received a huge fine from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) for this.
However, the huge crypto exchange has flouted the rules much more often. For example, there have been heavy sanctions against Iran for years, as a result of disputes between the Iranian and American governments. Iranian companies are therefore not allowed to use the SWIFT payment system, and Iranians are not allowed to open accounts with Western companies.
Yet Binance allowed this because it took advantage of loopholes. After all, it’s not just operational in the US, and Binance’s international arm isn’t even headquartered in the US. In addition, the company also operated in countries such as France, Italy and Spain without a license from the central bank or other regulatory authorities.
Binance expects fines for circumventing sanctions laws
Binance’s Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Patrick Hillmann explains The Wall Street Journal that the dispute with the government may not be over yet.
According to Hillmann, the exchange was unaware of the numerous laws that prevent money laundering, criminal sanctions evasion and corruption. That is why Binance expects to have to pay fines for this. It is now working with regulatory authorities to find out what it needs to do to rectify mistakes it has made.
Reuters writes that the US Department of Justice is in internal limbo. Some employees believe that there is not enough evidence to charge Binance and a number of top people, others believe that action must be taken hard and fast. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, among others, would be among the top people to be charged. Money laundering and violation of sanctions legislation are mentioned as reasons.