Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, hid its substantial ties with China for several years, according to a Financial Times report citing internal company documents.
The claims in the report contradicted Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao's (CZ) statements that the platform left China after the country began scrutinizing the industry in 2017.
According to the details in the documents, CZ and other senior executives told the employees to hide Binance's presence in China.
- The exchange's relation with the country includes an office used until late 2019 and a Chinese bank utilized to pay salaries to certain employees.
- Zhao also told employees in a company message that they no longer explicitly declare their office addresses.
- The new claims followed the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) complaint that alleges Binance and CZ of violating U.S. regulations in seven counts.
- CFTC's accusations include that Binance concealed the addresses of its executive offices, executives' identities, and locations of the entities operating the exchange.
In addition to the CFTC, Binance has also been under scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and federal prosecutors in the U.S.
