Changpeng Zhao, founder and CEO of Binance, greets the audience as he takes the stage for a panel session at the VivaTech Conference in Paris on June 16, 2022.
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PARIS — Just before French police paid a visit to Binance’s office in Paris, the top French executive of the crypto exchange disregarded concerns about the impact of U.S. regulatory charges on Binance’s other operations, likening them to the fluttering of a butterfly’s wings.
According to reports by Le Monde, French prosecutors have initiated an investigation into “aggravated money-laundering” by the crypto exchange and are also looking into its operation of an unauthorized exchange.
In an interview with CNBC shortly before the raid, David Prinçay, the President of Binance France, was asked about his concerns regarding the charges from the top two U.S. financial regulators against the exchange.
“I am unconcerned about what happened in the U.S.,” Prinçay responded at the Proof of Talk summit in Paris. “We are operating in Europe, under the supervision of French and European regulators.”
Prinçay stressed that Binance.US assets are separate from the international exchange, a claim supported by the exchange’s legal team. However, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which recently filed 13 securities charges against Binance, disagrees, stating that Binance user funds are at “significant risk” due to alleged interlocking ownership of Binance-related companies by founder Changpeng Zhao.
The Chief of Binance France referred to the U.S. allegations of commingling as a “car crash.”
“My only concerns at the moment are that we are focusing too much on the car crash instead of driving,” Prinçay stated.
Binance founder, Zhao, dismissed the police statement and media reports as “FUD” (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), asserting that surprise on-site inspections are commonplace.
“We will not comment on the specifics of law enforcement or regulatory investigations, other than to say that our users’ information is securely held and shared with government officials only when appropriate documentation and justification have been provided,” the exchange stated in another press release.[source]
Prinçay has yet to respond to a request for comment on the police visit.
Binance is facing over a dozen charges from the SEC and a similar set of allegations from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The U.S. Department of Justice is also reportedly investigating the exchange, according to an SEC complaint.
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