US Congressman Sends Letter to Binance, Requesting Information on Regulatory Responses by 16th

Request information from Binance

Three US senators from both parties, including Rep. Elizabeth Warren, who is known as a cryptocurrency skeptic, sent a joint letter to the CEOs of Binance and Binance.US on the 1st.

The purpose of the letter is to request information from both companies and related companies regarding their financial situation, risk management and compliance measures. Lawmakers are demanding information, claiming that the relationship between Binance and Binance.US is similar to the relationship between FTX and FTX US. The deadline for responses is the 16th of this month.

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At the beginning of the letter, lawmakers noted that Binance faces a number of scrutiny following the FTX demise. Binance has the following suspicions:

• Involvement in sanctions evasion
• Involvement in money laundering
• Operate a remittance business without a license
• financial soundness
• Opaque corporate structure

And despite calls for transparency from customers, Congress and global regulators, the company continues to deny disclosure of much information about its core business. The lack of information disclosure suggests that Binance has become a hotbed for illegal financial activities. (Binance is not a public company)

Using previous reports, the lawmaker pointed out the problems of Binance and finally requested that the following documents and answers be submitted by the 16th.

• Binance and subsidiary balance sheets (2017 to present).
• Quarterly estimates of the number and percentage of U.S. users (2017 to present).
• Following reports that Changpong Zhao (CZ) CEO approved a plan to set up a company to evade regulation in 2018, documents and correspondence records related to the plan.
• Records of all compliance measures policies and procedures and related communications.
• As reported by Reuters, if Mr. CZ had instructed that “personal identification is not necessary”, the record of the exchange at that time.
• A document showing the relationship between Binance and Binance US.
• Full list of US platforms that use Binance.

Regulatory compliance with Binance

Following the Terra scandal and the bankruptcy of FTX, governments and regulatory authorities around the world are increasingly scrutinizing cryptocurrency companies.

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Last month, it was revealed that Binance may be willing to pay fines as it seeks to settle with U.S. regulators. This issue seems to be mainly about compliance violations in the early stage of establishment.

At the time, Binance’s Chief Strategy Officer said, “Binance has grown rapidly as a business run by software engineers unfamiliar with the laws and regulations that deal with the risks of bribery, corruption, money laundering and economic sanctions. It started,” he said.

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