The Securities Commission of Thailand (SEC) announced that it has opened a criminal case against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance on charges of illegal financial transactions.
Several regulators are already investigating the activities of the largest cryptocurrency exchange, but the step taken by the SEC of Thailand has become the most serious – regulators of other countries are limited to only warnings. The SEC said in a statement that the regulator sent a letter to the Binance office demanding a written explanation of its activities on April 5. However, there was no response from the exchange.
The criminal case against Binance was initiated by the SEC in conjunction with the Economic Crime Unit of the Royal Thai Police. According to the regulator, the exchange violated Thai laws on working with cryptocurrencies, established by a special decree on businesses related to digital assets. Binance officials can face jail sentences ranging from 2 to 5 years, as well as fines ranging from $ 6,000 to $ 15,500.
“As you can imagine, we cannot comment on specific issues related to regulatory bodies. But we can emphasize that we always work with regulators and take regulatory compliance very seriously. We are constantly monitoring changes in laws and regulations in the cryptocurrency space, ”said a Binance official.
Earlier, the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) warned that Binance does not have a license to operate in the country, and the UK regulator has banned the exchange to provide some of the services. In addition, the Cayman Islands regulator announced that Binance is not licensed or authorized to operate in the country.
