The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) officers raided the Binance Australia office as part of an investigation into derivatives. Bloomberg writes about this with reference to informed sources.
In April 2023, the regulator canceled the license of the local branch of the crypto exchange. Until April 21st, Binance Australia Derivatives users were required to close all derivatives positions.
The agency is studying the classification of platform clients as retail and institutional clients. The firm has previously admitted that it erroneously placed the former in the latter category.
“We cannot confirm or deny any details. Regulatory review of the company continues, – said the representative of ASIC.
Binance Australia employees said they are “cooperating with local authorities and focusing on compliance with regulatory standards.”
In May, the local branch notified the suspension of deposits in local dollars due to the actions of the payment service provider.
Binance later announced that it was ending its partnership with Paysafe, which, in the absence of alternatives, will result in the inability to deposit and withdraw funds in euros from September.
Recall that on June 5, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao. Against this background, increased regulatory pressure on the company in Europe
Binance withdrew applications for licenses in the UK, Austria, Cyprus, announced its withdrawal from the Netherlands. The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority ordered the exchange to immediately stop providing services.
It also became known about the investigation of the French authorities in relation to the local branch of the platform. Officials are looking into alleged illegal provision of cryptocurrency services and failure to comply with anti-money laundering obligations.
The Brazilian parliament later decided to vote to summon the head of the Binance regional office to testify on similar grounds.