According to journalists from the Financial Times, Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, allegedly concealed its close relationship with China for several years.
The report suggests that Binance’s top executives instructed employees to hide their connections and presence in China, contradicting the company’s claims that it left China immediately after the Chinese government began cracking down on cryptocurrencies in 2017.
The Financial Times claims that Binance used Chinese banks to pay salaries to some employees and maintained an office that may have been used until the end of 2019, despite the 2017 ban on cryptocurrency exchanges in China.
The publication cites several documents where employees are advised not to disclose office addresses and a requirement for employees receiving wages in China to visit tax authorities.
Binance has denied the allegations, claiming that anonymous sources distort information, and the conclusions drawn from them are “subjectively and grossly misinterpreted events.”
The allegations come amid a lawsuit filed by US regulators against Binance for allegedly serving US customers while unlawfully and willfully avoiding regulation.
Overall, the allegations against Binance raise questions about the exchange’s transparency and compliance with regulations, which could have implications for its future operations.