The leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance US just launched its own investigation unit and as part of forming the departmental force, the company has appointed former FBI special agent BJ Kang as the new head.
Kang with extensive experience in securities fraud will lead the company’s first paramilitary force to focus his efforts on detecting and ruling out illegal activities on the platform.
His appointment has been confirmed by Krishna Juvvadi, Binance US vice president and head of legal.
What Happens Next?
Kang will support Binance US’ efforts to strengthen cooperation with law enforcement agencies, regulators, and other exchanges alike. The new head of investigation unit is also committed to establishing a complete “investigations infrastructure” for Binance US.
As reported on October 20, BJ Kang previously worked with the FBI for almost 20 years in many types of cases until recently moved to the cybercrime squad at the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force.
Kang collaborates with colleagues from the Financial Crimes Agency (FinCEN), the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at NCIJTF to resolve matters involving Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
The former FBI agent became “the most feared man on Wall Street” after the Madoff investment case, the major scandal of the Ponzi scheme discovered in late 2008.
Kang also played a key role in defeating Raj Rajaratnam, a former hedge fund manager who had engaged in insider trading.
Binance US said in a statement that it has strengthened its legal, compliance and risk operations over the past year by increasing its department headcount by 145% and dedicating over one-fifth of the company’s total workforce to regulatory compliance.
Binance’s Efforts To Comply With Zero Regulation
A series of allegations has pointed to the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange since the beginning of the year. Notably, Reuters’ report Reuters showed that Binance operated without a license in Malta and did not comply with many business and financial regulations.
The global news agency conducted dozens of interviews with former Binance executives, advisors and business partners.
Reuter also investigated hundreds of documents, including confidential correspondence between Binance and Maltese regulators and messages within the company. Recently, the news agency said that Binance circumvented regulators’ scrutiny.
In June, Binance was reportedly under SEC’s investigation. The exchange was alleged to sell unregistered securities during the 2017 initial coin offering.
The regulatory scrutiny on Binance got more intense after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation into the U.S. unit of the largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
We Will Get You As Far As We Can
Kang’s arrival is at the time when law enforcement organizations have been closely monitoring Binance. Under the probe of SEC, Binance US is required to provide details about the two businesses that are thought to be market makers for the platform.
Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that is not headquartered in any one country but instead has several offices located all over the world.
In the past, investigations of the corporation were conducted by the Justice Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Internal Revenue Service.
It is well known that CZ, the CEO of Binance, is a strong advocate for the policies in the United States. CZ praised the tight regulations that the United States government has put in place to safeguard users, concentration, fraud, and financial crime.
He also underlined that Binance will make use of this opportunity to engage with regulators and that this was a primary focus of his remarks.
The team at Reuters was one of the many people who stated that CZ’s comments surrounding the U.S. crypto report represent his efforts to seek the backing of regulatory officials located all over the world.
Binance is a massive trading platform that maintains excellent relationships with authorities all over the world. Within the European region, Binance has been granted legal permission to conduct business in the countries of France, Italy, and Spain thus far.
However, there are also some legislative obstacles that the platform must overcome in nations like the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
