According to sources familiar with the matter, police and financial regulators in various European countries are collaborating with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reveal more information about Bitcoin exchange Binance.
Giant Bitcoin exchange under investigation from four sides
The SEC has been requesting information about Binance’s activities from various European nation states for some time now. As you follow on Kriptokoin.com, the SEC sued Binance earlier this month. Accordingly, he accused the Bitcoin exchange of mixing funds. After that, some of the European states also took action. Other European officials are still in the process of assessing the complexity of Binance’s case. Hence, they have not yet complied with the SEC’s requests for information.
Like FTX, Binance has dozens, if not hundreds, of registered companies around the world, mostly in Europe. In addition to being licensed to serve as a crypto exchange in countries such as France and Cyprus and in Spain through its subsidiary MoonPay, it also has or has had other companies registered in the UK, Ireland, Malta and a number of other EU countries. Most companies registered in these countries declared small income brackets ranging from a few thousand euros to 500,000 euros ($546,000). But some have declared as much as €200 million ($218 million) per year.
Binance’s opaque European network attracts attention!
There are even loans given to some companies by the mysterious Guangying Chen, the company shareholder. The extensive stratification and distribution of information across many different countries appears to be aimed at making Binance’s operations opaque and difficult to understand.
CZ claims that recent inspections by French police of Binance’s offices in the country were only routine. However, the French newspaper Le Monde claims that since February 2022, French authorities have been investigating Binance for aggravated money laundering violations in its own investment activities and by its own clients. Binance also gave up its license as a crypto exchange in Cyprus. These decisions were made as Binance prepares for Crypto Asset Market (MiCA) regulations that will impose stricter rules on crypto exchanges and service providers in the European Union (EU).
Who is Guangying Chen?
Guangying Chen is the sole and sole shareholder of several companies registered with Binance in Europe. Changpeng Zhao (CZ), on the other hand, is rarely the openly declared owner. Chen is a Chinese passport holder with a registered address in Singapore. However, Binance also claims that he holds a European passport. Accordingly, he claims that he lives in Europe.
Official documents show that Chen received a new passport in 2022. However, the origin of his new passport could not be confirmed. A recent Forbes study revealed that Chen serves as Binance’s chief financial officer. He also claimed that he audited Binance’s bank accounts and that Zhao was the most trusted person in the company.
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