- Reuters accused Binance CEO of using shady means to avoid UK and US regulators.
- The report reviews corporate emails, texts, and papers in the last five years.
- Reuters alleged that fraudsters, drug dealers, and hackers laundered over $2.35 billion due to flaws in the Binance compliance program.
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO of the largest crypto exchange, Binance, has come under hefty regulatory allegations by the UK-based news agency Reuters.
In what the news house called a “special report,” it alleged that the Binance CEO and its aides plotted via underhand means to evade regulatory oversight from the UK and the US authorities. The exposé involves a review of hundreds of corporate emails, texts, and documents dated between 2017 and early 2022, as well as interviews with about 30 former workers, advisors, and business partners.
According to the report, CEO Zhao gave the go-ahead for a proposal in 2018 to create a new American exchange primarily to insulate the main business from government inspection. A statement read: “The new exchange would serve as a regulatory inquiry clearing house diverting regulators’ focus off the primary platform.”
Last year, Reuters exposed how Binance fuelled its rapid expansion while maintaining lax anti-money laundering safeguards and concealing information from authorities. The report also alleged that fraudsters, drug dealers, and hackers were able to use the exchange to launder at least $2.35 billion worth of cryptocurrency due to flaws in its compliance program.
However, the Reuters report quoted the Binance Chief Communications Officer, Patrick Hillman, saying, “over the past two years, the company worked with global law enforcement to seize assets of some of the most prolific criminal organizations in the world.”
In response to the allegations, the CEO of Binance calls the story “flagrantly inaccurate,” adding that Reuters “crossed a serious line” by threatening to reveal private information about his family publicly.
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