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Binance Partners with Taiwan to Solve Multi-Million Cryptocurrency-Assisted Money Laundering Case
Last Updated: May 17, 2024 1:52am EDT | 2 minute read
Binance collaborated with the Investigation Bureau of the Taiwan Ministry of Justice and the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office to solve a significant case involving cryptocurrency-assisted money laundering.
The investigation focused on illicit funds amounting to nearly NT$200 million, equivalent to about $6 million, the exchange said in a statement. Press release shared with Cryptonews.com.
According to the announcement, Binance’s cooperation, leveraging the expertise and intelligence sharing of the Financial Crimes Compliance Department (FCC), played a key role in bringing perpetrators to justice.
Money laundering over a long period
The criminal operation facilitated money laundering by fraud groups using virtual assets over a long period.
The perpetrators used various tactics, including fabricating customer conversation logs, evidence of remittances, and falsified identity verification data, to create the illusion of legitimate transactions.
However, their activities did not go unnoticed and law enforcement eventually caught up with them.
The police traced and monitored several suspicious cryptocurrency transactions and sought relevant information from various parties, including Binance.
“After receiving the request, Binance responded quickly and arranged a cross-border online meeting with investigators and prosecutors to discuss the cooperation strategy,” the exchange wrote.
“Binance’s expert FCC teams provided insights and recommendations based on the analysis of cryptocurrency flows, helping to narrow down potential suspects more effectively.”
Prosecutor Lo Wei-Yuan of the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office, who oversaw the case, subsequently filed indictments last month against nine suspects on charges of aggravated fraud, violating the Money Laundering Control Law of money and violation of the rules on the prevention of organized crime.
Expressing gratitude for Binance’s cooperation, Prosecutor Lo Wei-Yuan said that Binance has “active and continuous cooperation with law enforcement agencies in Taiwan.”
Damien Ho, a representative from Binance’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) team, said that Binance is committed to fighting financial crime and protecting the integrity of the Web3 ecosystem.
“We will continue to support this goal and deepen our cooperation with global law enforcement.”
Binance Eyes aims for global expansion
Last week, the Financial Intelligence Unit of India (FIU-IND) revealed that Binance was successful registered with the regulatory bodyreturning to the country after some regulatory hurdles.
Before that, the exchange announced that it had done so has obtained a license from the Dubai Regulatory AuthorityVARA, allowing the platform to satisfy both retail and qualified and institutional customers.
According to Bloomberg, the licensing process involved Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao relinquishing voting control of the Dubai unit.
Also, earlier this year, Binance has unveiled its joint venture for cryptocurrency exchange Binance Thailandwhich was created in collaboration with Gulf Innova, a subsidiary of Gulf Energy Development.
Binance Thailand, abbreviated as Binance TH, provides a platform for digital asset trading services with Thai Baht trading pairs.
It is worth noting that Binance has faced increasing regulatory scrutiny around the world.
Last year, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed charges against Binance for allegedly operating an illegal digital asset derivatives exchange and evading federal laws.
Likewise, the US Securities and Exchange Commission accused Binance Holdings LTD and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) for allegedly operating unregistered stock exchanges, brokerage exchanges, clearinghouses, and unregistered offers and sales of securities.