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The financial regulator in Belgium, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) had forced the cryptocurrency exchange Binance to halt its services in the country alleging that the exchange has violated the law by serving Belgian customers from countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
“The FSMA has noted that Binance is offering and providing exchange services in Belgium between virtual currencies and legal currencies, as well as custody wallet services, from countries that are not members of the European Economic Area. The FSMA has therefore ordered Binance to cease, with immediate effect, offering or providing any and all such services in Belgium,” the FSMA said in a statement.
According to the statement, companies that are from countries outside the EEA are prohibited from offering exchange services between virtual currencies and legal currencies to customers within Belgium.
The FMSA is blaming the exchange for violating Article 136 of the Belgian Law and thus imposing sanctions to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
A Binance spokesperson said in a statement to CoinDesk: “We are disappointed to learn that the FSMA has come to this decision despite our ongoing conversations. We are reviewing the details of their notice and will continue to work collaboratively with regulators in Belgium and around the world in compliance with our obligations.”
EU Authorities Are Targeting Binance
Last week, Binance was forced to exit the Dutch market following its unsuccessful attempt to obtain a virtual asset service provider (VASP) from the Dutch regulator.
In addition, the company was also forced to close its services in Cyprus.
According to a statement published by the country’s regulator, the Cyprus Securities and Commission (CySEC), Binance was “under examination for application for deregistration”.
Binance is registered and operating in six European countries including France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania. However, the company is under investigation in France for allegedly providing digital asset services in an “illegal” manner.
How is the Binance Token Reacting?
In the past 24 hours, the BNB cryptocurrency has won around 0.55% of its value back since falling down to $241.79 on 23 June to $245.16 on the morning of 24 June, data on CoinMarketCap showed.
In the past week, however, the cryptocurrency has seen minor losses, down by 0.19% from highs of $248 on 18 June.
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