Binance helped customers bypass KYC/AML
Date: 2023-08-02 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: BUSINESS
Sources from cryptocurrency exchange Binance told Protos that the support team and other employees have been ordered to help customers avoid know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
According to sources, it is not clear exactly how they helped to evade the rules. However, Binance employees are known to have advised users in restricted regions to “use the P2P market and deposit crypto.” It also clarifies that Binance “trusts the KYC standards of its P2P merchants.”
The publication recalled that similar cases have already been reported previously. However, recent statements have once again confirmed the fears of many regulators. At the same time, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao himself continues to deny that employees were ever asked to help clients circumvent KYC / AML laws or help them find loopholes in rules and regulations.
Customer registration bypassing KYC
Earlier, journalists found out that Binance employees helped customers from China bypass compliance and verification. In total, the platform helped over 200,000 users to register, bypassing its own security system.
Moreover, the platform even offered specialized mobile applications for Chinese customers. At the same time, a VPN was not required to download the application, since the download was carried out through the binance.com domain. However, the representative of the exchange denied the existence of a special Chinese version of the mobile application. The exchange also added that they have improved the system for identifying users from prohibited regions.
Scheme to bypass US regulators
Back in 2020, Binance developed a massive plan to circumvent US regulatory and regulatory requirements. The document, called “Tai Chi” (literally “give in and win”) contains rules on how the exchange is going to circumvent the requirements of regulatory and supervisory authorities in the United States.
The main purpose of the platform was to mitigate the effects of regulation and is designed to minimize the impact of US law. The document noted the need to undermine the ability to "combat money laundering and the application of US sanctions", as well as to detect illegal activity.
