North Dakota Revokes Binance.US License
The move by the North Dakota financial authority to withdraw the Binance.US money transmission license is in light of a spread out of similar decisions in other states like Arkansas, Alaska, Florida, Maine, North Carolina, and Oregon. As the main office was under the U.S. regulatory scrutiny, its member company kept on operating in the country.
Regulatory Non-Compliance Cited
Someone ordered this week for the group to be taken out as the America subsidiary did not apply the laws related to North Dakota. It also revealed the guilt of Changpeng Zhao, the main beneficiary of the subsidiary, in the face of charges that are connected to U.S. laws on anti-money laundering alleged crimes.
Prosecutors Target Binance for Alleged Security Lapses and Criminal Ties
Last year, Zhao got a four months jail term as he pleaded guilty to the money laundering charge. Even in those days, he did not neglect the Binance company as he himself was the company’s largest shareholder. Binance was seeking the development of a better user identification system even as Binance was criticized for not taking enough security measures to ward off crime increase. Binance was a soft target as it faced severe criticism for operating without proper security measures that facilitated criminals to be the major players. The Attorney General, in his allegations, had reversed this security shortcoming, and claimed that a number of suspicious transactions such as the one possibly involving the so-called terrorist groups, slipped through the laissez-faire arrangement.
They also accused that the exchange did not disclose any transactions related to the child sexual abuse materials and obtained a large portion of the ransomware profits. To avoid a trial, Binance accepted a $4.32 billion fine. Zhao himself agreed to pay a $50 million criminal fine and an additional $50 million to the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
Florida Appeals Court overturns the block imposed on the Binance US operations.
Binance.US, according to the North Dakota regulator, did not put its finances at the real estate market or/and AML (anti-money laundering) program as lawful enough which was a violation of the Money Transmitters Act. The regulator claimed that suspending the license was essential and proper to protect citizens from any illegal activities, practices, or transactions.
Florida state court of appeals in a recent May decision voted that the Florida regulators had no legitimate ground for their action to bar Binance from conducting business within the state of Florida. The decision of the court was that the regulatory authorities did not provide adequate reasons why the company was stopped.
Implications for the Future
Binance.US is now one of the many states’ such as New York, putting legal pressure on crypto exchanges to observe American regulations. Binance and similar platforms might be forced to roll out stronger AML and compliance measures to continue operations in the U.S. as the landscape is dynamic.
