A bad news came from France for the crypto money exchange Binance, which is in trouble with the SEC in the USA.
France Opens Investigation into Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance
The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed in a statement that the French unit of Binance is under investigation by local authorities for the illegal provision of digital asset services and aggravated money laundering actions.
The Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement that the French prosecutors' allegations against Binance are related to "acts of illegal enforcement" of operating as a digital asset service provider, on the one hand, and money laundering aggravated by competing with investment, concealment, conversion operations, the latter by criminal perpetrators making a profit. carried out,” he said.
Binance, which is facing a lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged failure to register as a trading platform and unregistered sale of securities, news outlet Le Monde reported earlier Friday, that by 2022, through its local arm, Binance will enter the French market through its local arm. suspected of recruiting customers outside the legal framework.
The news came as Binance announced that it was leaving the Netherlands after the company failed to obtain a license that showed it met the country's anti-money laundering (AML) guidelines.
The exchange has also applied to end its registration with Cyprus' securities regulator, saying it is focusing its efforts on "less regulated entities in the EU".
In May 2022, Binance received regulatory approval from France's market regulator, AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers).
During last year's Paris Blockchain Week, the company's CEO, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, said that the city will likely become the financial hub for crypto in Europe and much of the world.
*Not investment advice.