The controversy surrounding the bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, continues unabated. The company now faces the U.S. Department of Justice.
The reason for the tension between Binance and the US Justice system is that the exchange has requested thank you notes to federal agencies in exchange for collaborating with his investigations.
Binance applications it has not suited the Department of Justice, so they have sent communications to agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service and others, demanding that they stop signing the letters, according to Bloomberg.
Among the reasons the Justice Department put forward for making that decision, is the fact that Binance is required by law to cooperate with the investigations. “Thank you notes should not be necessary to ensure the company’s help,” says the Department.
According to Bloomberg, Binance is being investigated in the United States for money laundering and tax crimes. In that case, sending thank-you notes would possibly put the agencies in that country in a uncomfortable position to investigate to a company that claims to collaborate with the authorities.
Last May, CriptoNoticias reported, that the exchange collaborated with U.S. justice in money laundering investigations. At the time, Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the company, he denied that the company was under any kind of scrutiny on American soil.
Binance said they have collaborated with regulators to combat cybercrime, all this as part of the”ongoing effort to help make the industry a better place.”
Purpose of thank-you notes
According to former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official Ken Joseph, companies like Binance request letters of appreciation or quote their government assistance, to avoiding or reducing sanctions.
However, Joseph does not believe that those mechanisms will have an impact on investigations to any company.
Problems increase for Binance
Binance has no problems only in the United States. Regulators from various parts of the world put obstacles to this exchange. This Thursday, July 15, Crypto News reported that Italy restricted exchange operations on its territory, specifically those involving cryptocurrency derivatives and company share tokens.
In this way, Italy joins countries such as the Cayman Islands, Thailand United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia that, to a greater or lesser extent, have restricted Binance’s operations in their respective territories.