It’s a big fish that is now in the sights of regulators looking to oversee the young crypto industry.
And it’s a safe bet that the subtle message that the market police want to send — no actor is immune — will be heard loud and clear. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume is under investigation by the Department of Justice (DoJ).
The federal agency is investigating whether Binance.com violated US money laundering sanctions. At the end of 2020, the DoJ asked Binance to submit internal documents relating to how the firm ensures that users of its platform do not launder money, reports Reuters.
Prosecutors Want Communications from CEO Zhao
The DoJ also requested personal communications from CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the news outlet said, citing a written request. In particular, the federal investigators want Binance to pass on to them the exchanges between Zhao and 12 other executives and partners regarding the detection of illegal transactions.
The DoJ was looking for any company records with instructions that “documents be destroyed, altered, or removed from Binance’s files” or “transferred from the United States,” Reuters wrote.
“As has been well documented, regulators across the globe are reaching out to every major crypto exchange to better understand our industry. We work with agencies regularly to address any outstanding questions,” a Binance spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“Binance has an industry leading global security and compliance team which boasts more than 500 employees across the globe. Our team includes professionals with backgrounds as regulators, senior investigators from distinguished blockchain analysis firms, and law enforcement agents who have led some of the largest investigations into cybercrimes.”
The DoJ didn’t respond to a request for comment.
CZ, who is a Canadian citizen, seems to confirm the investigation on his Twitter account.
“Another story today about a crypto company receiving an inquiry from a…
