French Prosecutors Expand Money Laundering, Tax Fraud Probe Against Binance: Reuters

The probe is focused connected alleged offenses committed successful some France and the broader European Union from 2019 to 2024.

Jan 28, 2025, 5:55 p.m. UTC

French authorities person expanded a probe into Binance, investigating alleged wealth laundering, taxation fraud and different crimes astatine the crypto speech from 2019 to 2024, according to a Tuesday study from Reuters.

Binance has denied the allegations, telling CoinDesk successful an emailed connection that it volition “vigorously combat immoderate charges made against it.”

The investigation, which was opened by JUNALCO, the part of the Paris nationalist prosecutor’s bureau that handles economical and fiscal crime, involves alleged offenses that took spot successful France arsenic good arsenic the broader European Union (EU). French authorities archetypal began investigating Binance successful June 2023 for “aggravated wealth laundering” and the “illegal” proviso of crypto trading services earlier it received regulatory support from the AMF, the French fiscal regulator, successful 2022.

“Binance is profoundly disappointed to larn that [JUNALCO] has taken the determination to notation this matter, which is respective years old, to the French judiciary for further investigation,” the spokesperson added.

At the clip quality broke of the archetypal probe successful 2023, then-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao called the reports “FUD” connected societal media and reaffirmed Binance’s committedness to its beingness successful France, which Zhao called the exchange’s “flagship halfway successful Europe.”

Last April, Zhao was sentenced to 4 months successful situation successful the U.S. for failing to instrumentality an capable know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) authorities astatine Binance, frankincense violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Binance besides pleaded blameworthy to violating the BSA and sanctions laws, and agreed to wage $4.3 cardinal successful fines and penalties to settee the charges.

As portion of Zhao’s plea woody with U.S. prosecutors, helium agreed to measurement down arsenic CEO of Binance. The speech has since named Richard Teng, a erstwhile regulator, arsenic CEO. Since Teng’s takeover of the exchange, Binance said it has stepped up its compliance efforts, boosting headcount and expanding its spending by astir 40% year-over-year.

Cheyenne Ligon

On the quality squad astatine CoinDesk, Cheyenne focuses connected crypto regularisation and crime. Cheyenne is primitively from Houston, Texas. She studied governmental subject astatine Tulane University successful Louisiana. In December 2021, she graduated from CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, wherever she focused connected concern and economics reporting. She has nary important crypto holdings.