Binance Faces French Probe Over Suspected Money Laundering

• French authorities are investigating Binance France over alleged illegal provision of digital asset services.
• Allegations involve acts of aggravated money laundering, competition with investments, concealment, and conversion.
• Binance also faces suspicions of failing to comply with “know your customer” (KYC) procedures.

French news platform Le Monde reported on June 16 that the French authorities are currently conducting an investigation into the world’s leading crypto exchange Binance’s French subsidiary due to allegations of providing digital asset services in violation of the law and engaging in acts of intensified money laundering.

According to Paris’ public prosecution office, allegations against Binance “relates on the one hand to acts of illegal exercise of the function of service provider on digital assets (PSAN).”

Moreover, the French prosecutors stated:

[Binance has committed] acts of aggravated money laundering, by competition with operations of investments, concealment, conversion, the latter being carried out by perpetrators of offenses having generated profits.

Additionally, there are suspicions that the platform failed to fulfill its obligations regarding the “know your customer” (KYC) procedures. These procedures encompass the necessary checks that financial services are required to conduct in order to prevent their platforms from being utilized for money laundering purposes.

Le Monde recaps that the French authorities aren’t alone in suspicions of “aggravated money laundering,” as the US SEC has also recently filed a lawsuit against the exchange protocol.

Meanwhile, the Paris public prosecutor’s office has verified that an investigation into Binance, conducted by the specialized interregional jurisdiction of Paris (JIRS), resulted in a referral to the SEJF, a government anti-financial crime entity, in February 2022. The collected documentary and digital evidence obtained during the search will now undergo a thorough examination, as stated by the Paris public prosecutor.

This news follows after Binance announced its decision to withdraw from the Netherlands due to its inability to secure a license demonstrating compliance with the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.