Aussie Regulator Searched Local Binance Offices

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 Bloomberg report today (Wednesday), the search by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on the locations of Binance Australia was done yesterday (Tuesday). However, there is no official acknowledgment of the search from ASIC or Binance.

In a statement to the media, a Binance spokesperson 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. The crypto exchange also publicly revealed that it closed the derivatives positions of false classification of several users as ‘wholesale investors’.

Within a month of the probe against the derivatives operations, ASIC canceled the operational license of Binance Australia Derivatives, operated by Oztures Trading Pty Ltd. Interestingly, Binance took the decision to withdraw its Aussie license and terminate 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. The grave 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 also 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.

New COO at Marex; LCH RepoClear's service merger; read today's news nuggets here.