- Binance is registered as a digital asset service provider by the French financial regulator.
- The Paris Prosecutor’s Office in France has reported that Binance is under investigation for providing “illegal” digital asset services and “aggravated money laundering activities.”
- This news comes after Binance announced its leave from the Netherlands following its failure to obtain a license demonstrating compliance with the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) guidelines.
Binance announced today that it has leave from the Netherlands. Another European country has launched an investigation into the Binance exchange.
Binance Under Investigation for Serious Crimes
The Paris Prosecutor’s Office in France has reported that Binance is under investigation for providing “illegal” digital asset services and “aggravated money laundering activities.”
The charges against Binance by French prosecutors relate to operating as a digital asset service provider in “illegal activities” and engaging in “aggravated money laundering activities related to competition, concealment, and conversion activities carried out by profit-making criminals.” Binance is registered as a digital asset service provider by the French financial regulator.
While Binance is dealing with a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations of unregistered securities sales, it is also accused of having influenced French customers through a local entity outside the legal framework until 2022.
The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that an investigation into Binance resulted in a referral to the government’s financial crimes unit, SEJF, in February 2022.
The Paris Public Prosecutor stated, “The documents and computer elements collected during the search must now be thoroughly examined.”
Binance Faces Regulators’ Scrutiny in Various Countries
This news comes after Binance announced its withdrawal from the Netherlands following its failure to obtain a license demonstrating compliance with the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) guidelines. Binance, which collaborates with many countries, announced today that it is withdrawing from the Netherlands and that Dutch citizens can no longer register on the Binance exchange.
On June 14, the exchange applied for the removal of its “cryptocurrency asset service provider” license in Cyprus.