A group of French investors who were previously clients of Binance has filed a complaint against the top cryptocurrency exchange for allegedly illegally promoting its digital asset services in France between December 19, 2020, and May 4, 2022. The clients alleged that this was before the company was granted permission from the country’s financial markets regulator to offer digital asset services in the country.
Binance Facing Accusations of Misleading Commercial Practice
Lawyers involved in the case told Reuters that the plaintiffs accused Binance of having a “misleading commercial practice.” According to local media Mediapart, the investors claimed that they lost over €2.4 million in the aftermath of the TerraUSD/LUNA collapse, adding that the company promoted the token as being backed by the US dollar.
Finance Magnates reported the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) gave Binance the go-ahead to offer digital asset services in the country in May.
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Binance Responds to Illegal Promotion Claims
In a blog post, Binance shared responses it gave to Mediapart with regard to the complaint. The exchange noted that it did not carry out any promotional communication in France during the said period.
Responding to the question on its use of a Telegram channel named Binance French to share posts about its activities, the company said it “did not promote in France before being allowed to do so," adding that "Telegram groups are global community forums, which any Telegram user can create or join voluntarily.”
Meanwhile, the company has continued to make efforts to establish its presence in Europe. Finance Magnates reported that the exchange initiated licensing discussion with Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) following its digital asset services provider registration in France.
Furthermore, in May, Binance got the green light from Italy’s financial markets regulator, Organismo Agenti e Mediatori, to offer its cryptocurrency services in the country. Later in June, the company obtained the same permission in Spain.
