The Australian financial regulator has searched the premises of the local subsidiaries of Binance that came as a part of the probe against the crypto exchange’s now-closed derivatives business.
ASIC’s Investigation against Binance
According to a report published by Bloomberg today (Wednesday), the search at the locations of Binance Australia by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC ) was done yesterday (Tuesday). However, there is no official acknowledgement of the search from Binance or ASIC.
In a statement to the media, a spokesperson from Binance neither agreed nor denied the report, saying: “We are cooperating with local authorities, and Binance is focused on meeting local regulatory standards in order to serve our users in Australia in a fully compliant manner.”
Binance Australia attracted regulatory attention in February over the concerns of the misclassification of retail investors as wholesale. On top of that, the crypto exchange publicly revealed that it closed the derivatives positions of the false classification of several users as wholesale investors.
Within a month of the probe against the derivatives operations, ASIC cancelled the operational license of Binance Australia Derivatives, operated by Oztures Trading Pty Ltd. Interestingly, Binance withdrew its Aussie license and terminated its derivatives operations in the country. Binance still offers spot trading services in Australia.
Regulatory Troubles
Binance, the largest crypto exchange in terms of trading volume, is facing regulatory pressure globally. A major one is in the US, as the Securities and Exchange Commission slapped the exchange and its CEO with a series of serious charges. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also brought a separate lawsuit against the exchange, Finance Magnates reported.
Meanwhile, the exchange is facing regulatory tensions in Europe. It has decided to deregister its Cypriot entity, and its licensing request was rejected in the Netherlands and Germany. In France, too, Binance is reportedly facing a probe for illegal services and money laundering, while in Belgium, the regulator issued an order to stop its service.
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