U. S. Attorney’s Office Summons Hedge Funds to Court in Binance case
2023.01.08 02:14
Budrigannews.com – Prosecutors in the United States are looking into possible money-laundering offenses in the relationships that hedge funds have with the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
The Washington Post cites unidentified sources as saying that the Western District of Washington’s Seattle U.S. attorney’s office subpoenaed investment firms to provide records of Binance communications in recent months.
According to legal experts, the alleged subpoenas do not imply that prosecutors are bringing criminal charges against the cryptocurrency exchange or hedge funds. Instead, authorities are still evaluating evidence and a possible settlement with Binance.
Since 2018, prosecutors in the United States have been looking into a number of cases involving the movement of illegal funds through the exchange. Money laundering conspiracy, unlicensed money transmission, and violations of criminal sanctions are among the alleged violations.
Cryptocurrency exchanges that do “substantial” business in the United States are required by the Bank Secrecy Act to register with the Treasury Department and abide by anti-money laundering regulations.
The Washington Post asked Binance’s chief strategy officer, Patrick Hillmann, about the company’s poor approach to regulatory compliance in its early years. However, the company has made significant investments in compliance programs.
Binance has joined the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists, or ACSS, to stay in compliance with global sanctions. The cryptocurrency exchange announced on January 6 that ACSS would provide certification training for its sanctions compliance team.
The team at Binance is expected to learn about the Office of Foreign Assets Control guidelines from the U.S. Treasury at the ACSS training and be aware of the potential for violations.
After receiving criticism for being unregulated, Binance recently joined the American crypto lobbying group Chamber of Digital Commerce. The group calls for research on central bank digital currencies, tax parity for digital assets, anti-money laundering/know your customer regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges, and increased regulatory clarity for security tokens.
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