French authorities have confirmed to CoinDesk that they are investigating Binance’s French unit for illegal provision of digital asset services and acts of aggravated money laundering. According to the Paris public prosecutor’s office, the allegations against Binance relates on the one hand to acts of illegal exercise of operating as a digital asset service provider and acts of aggravated money laundering, by competition with operations of investments, concealment, conversion, the latter being carried out by perpetrators of offenses having generated profits.
Binance is registered as a PSAN or digital asset service provider, with the French financial regulator. However, news publication Le Monde reported earlier on Friday that Binance is suspected of having canvassed French customers through its local arm outside the legal framework until 2022.
The Paris public prosecutor confirmed to CoinDesk that an investigation concerning Binance carried out by the specialized interregional jurisdiction of Paris (JIRS) led to a referral to the SEJF, an anti-financial crime arm of the government, in February 2022. The prosecutor said that the documentary and computer elements collected during the search will now have to be the subject of an in-depth study.
In May 2022, Binance secured regulatory approval in France’s from markets regulator AMF (Autorité des Marchés Financiers). The company had also previously said it was injecting $116 million through a partnership with a local nonprofit to grow the French crypto ecosystem.
Following the publication of this article, Binance told journalists that local authorities had visited the company’s offices in France. A spokesperson for Binance said in an emailed statement to journalists that Binance, as always, was fully collaborative and we met our obligations accordingly.