Binance denies US DOJ looking to prosecute the exchange, says Reuters is ‘wrong’
Binance said on Dec. 12 that Reuters had incorrectly stated that the U.S. Department of Justice was seeking to indict Binance over money laundering alterations.
In a statement, Binance claimed Reuters was “attacking our incredible law enforcement team” when it shared a press release sent to Reuters. The company also new blog post Focused on its “fighting cryptocrime”.
Reuters is wrong again.
Now they are attacking our great law enforcement team. A team we are incredibly proud of – they have made cryptocurrency safer for all of us.
Below is the full statement we sent to reporters and a blog about our amazing law enforcement team.
— Binance (@binance) December 12, 2022
The announcement comes after repeated denials by Binance regarding stories shared by Reuters over the past few months. In October, his CEO of Binance, his CZ, accused a Reuters reporter of allegedly planning to write an article about his children.
According to a Reuters article, Binance CEO Kendall Day has been discussing the possibility of resolving the case out of court with the DOJ. However, Binance claimed in his statement sent to Reuters included in the report that he is not cooperating with the DOJ.
Reuters article alleging DOJ investigation
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is at a crossroads to indict Binance for facilitating money laundering activities, according to a Reuters investigation.
According to Reuters, the investigation into Binance involves unauthorized money transfers, money laundering conspiracies, and violations of the US Bank Secrecy Act. The major exchange is said to have processed more than $10 billion of her payments to companies trying to evade US sanctions.
Reuters has claimed that Binance CEO Chanpeng Zhao enforced strict confidentiality rules on his employees to cover up his exchange’s breaches. For example, Binance employees were advised to communicate using encrypted messaging services and to use email as little as possible.
Additionally, Reuters claimed that Binance’s 2021 recruitment, which led to the hiring of top government investors, including former MLARS chief Kendall Day, was instigated to protect its interests during a criminal investigation. .
Some federal prosecutors involved in the investigation have material evidence to charge Binance, according to Reuters. But Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) leaders are hesitant to move forward with the charges.
“In recent months, NCET and Seattle office prosecutors have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to prepare indictments against not only Binance, but Zhao and other executives…,” Reuters added.
Binance’s fight against cryptocrime
In an article shared with Binance’s announcement, Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s Vice President of Global Intelligence and Research, shared an overview of their efforts to combat cryptocrime in 2022.
The article claims that since November 2021, Binance has responded to “more than 47,000 law enforcement requests” with an “average response time of 3 days.”
Gambaryan praised Binance’s security team, citing their extensive experience as well as his own past role within the IRS-CI. He went on to argue that:
“Given the personnel we currently have and the tools at our disposal, we are probably even the strongest in the entire financial sector.”
The Binance article was published on December 12, the same day the Reuters report was released.
