Forbes published a report by writer Michael Del Castillo today that claimed major crypto exchange Binance was “intentionally” deceiving US regulators, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume, is currently being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The report stated that:
“Forbes has learned that the Tai Chi document is currently circulating among law firms, accounting firms and others associated with Binance, and there is speculation that the FBI and the IRS may be investigating. When reached by telephone, an FBI agent in the Washington, D.C .field office initially denied knowledge of Binance and hung up. Later, the agent formally issued a “no comment.”
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao
The 2018 document details plans for a yet-unnamed U.S. company dubbed the “Tai Chi entity,” in an allusion to the Chinese martial art whose approach is built around the principle of “yield and overcome,” or using an opponent’s own weight against him. While Binance appears to have gone out of its way to submit to U.S. regulations by establishing a compliant subsidary, Binance.US, an ulterior motive is now apparent. Unlike its creator Binance, Binance.US, which is open to American investors, does not allow highly leveraged crypto-derivatives trading, which is regulated in the U.S.
One of the slides from the leaked slideshow, purporting to show how the “Tai-Chi Entity” could be connected to Binance | Source: Forbes
In a response made roughly an hour after the article’s publication, Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, disputed many of the claims, stating that the source — the leaked document — was “not produced by a Binance employee.” Castillo believed that former employee Harry Zhou created the presentation.
FUD. The statements and accusations in the article are incorrect. The whole article hinges on a 3rd party document. The said document was not produced by a @Binance employee (current or ex). Anyone can produce a “strategy document”, but it does not mean Binance follows them. 1/7 https://t.co/AnIUJLXWTZ
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) October 29, 2020
“Binance has always operated within the boundaries of the law,” stated the CEO. “We do not acknowledge the alleged document.“
CZ claimed that the fact the firm has opened exchanges in several countries is evidence it is willing to comply with regulatory framework “with proper licensing and applications” and stated Binance “has very strong collaboration with many notable law enforcement agencies worldwide.” He said Binance’s operations in the U.S. have “very strong restrictions and operating procedures in place.”
Castillo, the writer of Forbes tweeted: “I have an email from your chief compliance officer, dated October 13th, (on which you were cc’ed) informing me that “Harry Zhou is also no longer with our firm.” If you’d like to clarify why you’re now saying he was never with your firm, I’m here”.
Read more:
- Japanese Crypto Exchange Fisco Sued Binance For Helping Laundering Of More Than $ 9 Million Of Stolen Bitcoin From 2018 Hack
- Binance Smart Chain Transaction Volume Is Now 14% Of ETH, Meanwhile BNB Market Cap Is 10% Of ETH