Binance Employees are Allegedly Helping Users Bypass China's Crypto Ban – Here's What You Need to Know
CNBC's recent investigation has dropped a bombshell, Binance employees may be actively assisting Chinese users in eluding the country's rigid crypto regulations.
The probe scrutinized translated messages from Discord servers and Telegram groups tied to Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume and assets.
While Binance claims non-operation in China post the 2021 trading ban, messages from official Chinese-language chatrooms unveil Chinese customers artfully circumventing Binance's Know Your Customer (KYC) controls, hiding their true country of residence.
Ingenious techniques range from forging bank documents and concocting false addresses to exploiting Binance's system loopholes, often shared by Binance employees themselves.
Astoundingly, Binance employees and volunteer 'Angels' have allegedly supplied video guides and documents, coaching users on falsifying their country of residence to secure a Binance debit card, and morphing their crypto assets into a traditional checking account.
These findings ignite grave concerns about Binance's KYC and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) endeavors.
Sultan Meghji, Duke University professor and former FDIC chief innovation officer, voiced his apprehensions to CNBC.
"If I had an eight out of 10 concern about Binance from a regulatory perspective and from a national security perspective, this takes it to a 10 out of 10," said Meghji as the academic underscored the potential national security risks, alluding to how malevolent actors like terrorists, criminals, and money launderers could exploit such techniques.
In stark contrast, Binance founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao has praised the exchange's KYC systems as a 'billion-dollar effort' with advanced VPN detection tools.
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