There has been a major legal event in the case of Binance Exchange, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, that has challenged a $4.4 million fine by the FINTRAC of Canada. The fine was issued in May and claims that Binance violated AML and CFT rules and regulations. Binance filed the appeal on June 5 in Canada’s Federal Court claiming that its services are not targeted at Canadian users. This legal confrontation arises against the backdrop of Binance’s plan to cease operations in the Canadian market starting May 2023 due to stringent regulatory requirements.
The FINTRAC case against Binance is based on perceived shortcomings in Binance’s business management, or rather, its lack of registration as a foreign MSB and its inability to report transactions over $10,000.
In their appeal, Binance says that it never specifically targeted Canadian users, something that they believe should free them from the regulations that FINTRAC has raised. One of the most important reasons was the growing problem of the Canadian legislation that forced the company to leave the country.
This legal tussle in Canada is a common trend of regulatory troubles that Binance has encountered in different regions. The exchange’s international presence has attracted a lot of controversy due to the varying standards in different countries. The appeal in Canada also demonstrates that Binance still has not been able to find its place in meeting the expectations of global regulation.
However, this is not the only problem that Binance faces in the legal and regulatory sphere in other countries. Recently the exchange settled a large lawsuit in the United States by offering a $4.3 billion settlement. This settlement came after allegations similar to those in Canada.
The former CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, stepped down, and the present CEO is at the moment serving a four-month federal prison term after accepting a guilty plea of money laundering. In addition to the penalty, the U. S. Department of Justice required the company to cooperate with the Forensic Risk Alliance for the following three years.
Binance also faced some problems in Nigeria this year when two of its representatives were arrested on suspicion of tax fraud and money laundering. However, the charges were dropped by Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) last week. This is a major win for Binance in Nigeria. This dismissal has helped to reduce some of the regulatory burdens on Binance in Nigeria but the exchange is still facing a significant amount of regulatory scrutiny internationally.
As per CoinGabbar, Binance has also filed an appeal to the order made by FINTRAC where the latter demanded a $4.4 million fine shows that the cryptocurrency exchange has to deal with numerous regulations all over the world. The company’s defense of not directing its services to Canadian residents will be one of the main strategies used in the Federal Court of Canada. Since Binance is in the process of trying to follow the rules of various countries, the results of these legal cases will probably affect its actions and plans in the future.
