Binance responded to a letter from United States senators from early March requesting information on cryptocurrency exchange operations in the country, including its balance sheet.
According to a report on March 18, Binance’s response did not include the requested financial data. Bloomberg learned from an anonymous source that despite being omitted from the letter, the exchange forwarded the information to US regulators.
In the 14-page document, Binance Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillman dives into the exchange’s compliance history, acknowledging past mistakes, and asserting that the firm has developed robust Know Your Customer and anti-money laundering policies. money in recent years. However, the response did not address the senator’s concerns about Binance’s lack of transparency.
Hillman noted in the letter:
“Binance leverages both internal tools and tools from established third-party providers to scan transactions and user profiles in real-time. […] Between August 2021 and November 2022, Binance stopped more than 54,000 transactions as a result of transaction monitoring alerts.”
On March 2, three US senators led by Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder expressing concern about Binance’s activities and requesting the balance sheets of the companies.
According to the senators, there is evidence that Binance and its American arm attempted to evade US regulators, evade sanctions, and facilitate the laundering of at least $10 billion. “The little information about Binance’s financials that is available to the public suggests that the exchange is a hotbed of illegal financial activity,” the senators wrote in the letter.
Binance has previously stated that the two companies are separate entities with independent management and operations.
Among the senator’s requests were “all balance sheets of Binance and Binance subsidiaries from 2017 to the present,” as well as anti-money laundering and similar policies, and documents regarding the relationship between Binance and Binance.US.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into Binance.US in February regarding trading companies that are allegedly connected to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. An investigative report has suggested that Binance was behind a transfer of approximately $400 million in funds from a Binance.US account to a trading company run by CEO Changpeng Zhao.
