Crypto News: Binance Under Investigation by US Department of Justice Over Allegations of Sanction Violations and Money Laundering
The United States Department of Justice’s (DoJ) national security division is reportedly investigating Binance over suspicions that it illegally allowed Russians to evade sanctions and move money through its exchange.
The inquiry aims to determine whether Binance or its officials breached sanctions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The investigation is ongoing and is running in parallel with a criminal division inquiry.
The probe puts Binance under further scrutiny as it recovers from high-profile scandals and failures in the crypto industry. Binance has previously been accused of violating sanctions relating to Iran, but the exchange has asserted that it has not breached any financial sanctions imposed by the United States or other countries.
Binance maintains that it has strict know-your-customer (KYC) standards comparable to those used by traditional banking systems and requires clients to verify accounts using their legal resident country’s identification checks.
The platform enforces a zero-tolerance policy towards duplicate registrations, anonymous identities, and mysterious funding sources.
Although Binance has denied the allegations, the DoJ has not commented on the ongoing investigation. This development comes as regulatory authorities are stepping up their efforts to ensure cryptocurrency exchanges comply with laws against money laundering and terrorism funding.
Recently, the Israeli government shut down dozens of crypto accounts that it deemed suspicious, and Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) seized around 190 Binance accounts, alleging that they were linked to Hamas and ISIS.
It remains to be seen what consequences the investigation will have for Binance. However, the inquiry highlights that regulators are closely monitoring the cryptocurrency industry and are taking action against non-compliant operators.
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