Binance transferred more than $400 million from accounts opened by its US arm at Silvergate Bank, Merit Peak’s trading firm founded by bitcoin exchange CEO Changpeng Zhao. About this, with reference to the records of banks and internal correspondence of the company, writes Reuters.
The operation was carried out from the end of 2020 to the end of the first quarter of 2021.
The agency noted that they could not clarify its nature, as well as whether funds from US clients were involved in it. The journalists noted the concern of the leaders of Binance.US, who did not know the reason for such actions.
A representative of the US subsidiary of the stock exchange told Reuters that the information given by the agency is “outdated”.
Earlier, Zhao pointed out that one of the unnamed media outlets received $43 million from FTX for publishing a negative article about Binance.
In December 2022, Reuters reported that the US Department of Justice was investigating the trading platform for possible violations of anti-money laundering regulations. CFTC examines the exchange’s offer of derivatives to US investors without proper product registration. Zhao reacted to the publications with the words: “Hmm, some media outlets are still working for …”.
Recently, the exchange has faced pressure regarding Binance USD (BUSD). The New York State Department of Financial Services has ordered Paxos, a partner of the firm, to stop issuing the stablecoin. She also announced her readiness to sue the latter SEC.
The day before, Binance Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillmann announced his willingness to pay fines to settle charges in the United States.
Recall, the US Department of Justice Fraud Unit is investigating Silvergate’s transactions with the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and related hedge fund Alameda Research.
Senators Elizabeth Warren, John F. Kennedy and Roger Marshall demanded that Silvergate CEO Alan Lane provide detailed information about bank relations and the Sam Bankman-Freed trading platform.
In late 2022, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the credit institution for its alleged role in transferring FTX user deposits to Alameda Research accounts.
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