Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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French prosecutors have expanded their investigations into Binance’s activities between 2019 to 2024.
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The probe focuses on alleged offenses committed in both France and the broader European Union.
France Expands Probe Into Binance
French prosecutors have expanded their investigations into Binance, looking at possible money laundering, tax fraud, and other crimes at the crypto exchange from 2019 to 2024.
In the Reuters report, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume has denied the allegations. Binance added that they will vigorously fight any charges made against the company.
The investigation was launched by JUNALCO, the division of the Paris public prosecutor’s office that handles economic and financial crime. The authorities are probing alleged offenses that took place in France as well as the broader European Union (EU).
French authorities first launched an investigation into Binance in June 2023 for aggravated money laundering” and the “illegal” provision of crypto trading services. A Binance spokesperson told CoinDesk that,
“Binance is deeply disappointed to learn that [JUNALCO] has taken the decision to refer this matter, which is several years old, to the French judiciary for further investigation.”
Binance, Coinbase, Luno, and Gemini have obtained regulatory approval in France in recent years. Despite that, France continues to crack down on cryptocurrency exchanges, making it tough to obtain regulatory approval.
In August 2024, Bybit announced that it was ending all its services and products in France after the country made it harder for crypto firms to obtain operation licenses.
