Cryptocurrency exchange Binance could be linked to multi-billion dollar money laundering
At least $ 2.35 billion, nearly R $ 11.3 billion at the current price, may have been laundered through the Binance cryptocurrency exchange from 2017 to 2021, a survey conducted by Reuters.
By analyzing court documents, contacting authorities and with the help of blockchain companies, such as Chainalysis and Crystal Blockchain, the news agency reported that it was able to trace several illegal movements.
Binance’s answer
It is worth noting that Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange. Contacted by Reuters, the Chinese company’s communications director Patrick Hillman said the analysis was not accurate and that the company was always willing to “further” improve its ability to detect illegal activity.
According to an exchange spokesperson contacted by decipherthe article’s data is outdated and false: “It should be noted that the article uses outdated 2019 information and unverified personal claims as a crutch to establish a false narrative.”
Data obtained from the news agency
The report links several events to arrive at the final amount, such as the break-in of the Eterbase exchange, the financial transactions of the Russian site Hydra and even the activities of the North Korean hacker group Lazarus. Each would have used Binance’s services in some way to carry out illicit transactions.
In September 2020, for example, the Lazarus group allegedly created anonymous accounts on Binance to launder a portion of the $ 5.4 million stolen from Eterbase, Reuters noted. Emails shared with the agency allegedly show that Binance has also refused to share data from accounts suspected of theft without a formal request from the authorities.
Reuters also estimates that Hydra used Binance to process $ 780 million in payments. Finally, the article once again mentions the Lazarus group, which is said to be using illegal profits to finance North Korea’s nuclear program.
According to Chainalysis, which partnered with Reuters on the investigation, hackers stole $ 1.75 billion worth of cryptocurrencies by 2020, using Binance to launder more than $ 627 million. It remains to be seen what the development of the case will be in the coming days.
The post Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance May Be Linked to Multibillion Dollar Money Laundering first appeared on Digital Look.
Source: Olhar Digital
Leave a Reply