Reuters reviewed documentation from criminal and civil cases. Hillmann replied that "what's important to note is not where the funds come from - as crypto deposits cannot be blocked - but what we do after the funds are deposited." He said Binance uses transaction monitoring and risk assessments to "ensure that any illegal funds are tracked, frozen, recovered and/or returned to their rightful owner." Binance is working closely with law enforcement to dismantle criminal networks using cryptocurrencies, including in Russia, he said. Reuters then asked how Binance views its responsibility to monitor its indirect exposure to dirty money. Hillmann, the Binance spokesperson, said the Hydra figure was "inaccurate and overblown" and that Reuters was wrongly including indirect flows in its calculation. Money launderers often use sophisticated techniques to create complex chains of crypto transfers that cover their tracks, the FATF and the International Monetary Fund have said. For crypto firms, such "indirect" flows with links to known suspicious sources are red flags for money laundering, according to the Financial Action Task Force, a global watchdog that sets standards for authorities combating financial crime. The data compiled for Reuters included crypto that passed through multiple digital wallets before reaching Binance. The site was closed down and the alleged administrator arrested by Russian authorities. indicted the servers' alleged administrator for conspiring to commit money laundering and distribute illicit drugs. and German law enforcement had seized Hydra's servers. Reuters cross-checked these figures with another analysis firm, which agreed with the findings.
The data showed that from 2017 to 2022, buyers and sellers on the world's largest darknet drugs market, a Russian-language site called Hydra, used Binance to make and receive crypto payments worth $780 million. Most of the data was provided by Crystal Blockchain, an Amsterdam-based analysis firm that helps companies and governments trace crypto funds. Reuters reviewed detailed data about Binance client transactions on "darknet" sites – marketplaces for narcotics, weapons and other illegal items. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, voice concern over the illegal use of cryptocurrencies, the trade demonstrates how criminals have turned to the technology to launder dirty money.įor this article, Reuters interviewed law enforcement officials, researchers, and crime victims in a dozen countries, including in Europe and the United States, to assess the enduring impact of past gaps in Binance's anti-money laundering rules. Yet as policymakers and regulators, including U.S. The flow of illicit crypto through Binance, identified by Reuters, represents a small portion of the exchange's overall trading volumes. Musk didn't respond to requests for comment. Forbes abandoned its plans to list publicly last week and a Forbes spokesperson said Binance's investment would not take place. Meanwhile, his company is extending its reach into traditional business, announcing a $200 million investment in media group Forbes this year and committing $500 million to Tesla boss Elon Musk's bid to take over Twitter. Zhao said he saw "new found resiliency" in the market. The sector was hit by a sharp correction in May, its overall value slumping by a quarter to $1.3 trillion. With around 120 million users worldwide, Binance processes crypto trades worth hundreds of billions of dollars a month. In response to that article, Binance said it was helping drive higher industry standards and the reporting was "wildly outdated." In August 2021, Binance compelled new and existing users to submit identification. As Reuters reported in January, Binance kept weak money-laundering checks on its users until mid-2021, despite concerns raised by senior company figures starting at least three years earlier.
0 kommentar(er)
