Belgium's financial market regulator, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), has ordered Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, to halt its operations in the country. The agency said the platform is illegally offering trading and wallet custody services in Belgium from countries outside the European Economic Area. The Belgian regulator further ordered the company to return all cryptographic keys and virtual assets it holds on behalf of customers in Belgium. - The platform also has the option to transfer the keys and funds to authorized services.
- In an official statement, Binance said it is actively reviewing the details in the notice, adding that it would continue to work with Belgian regulators.
- The move came shortly after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a 136-page complaint against Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), over alleged U.S. law violations.
- The allegations in the complaint include mishandling customer funds, misleading investors and regulators, violating securities laws, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and wash trading.
- In the U.S., the exchange is also currently under scrutiny by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and federal prosecutors, mainly due to compliance issues.
- Besides, French authorities recently started investigating Binance on allegations of illegally canvassing customers and severe money laundering.
The company also had to withdraw from several markets in the West, including Canada, Cyprus, the Netherlands, and the U.K., over the last several months. |
