UK Financial Watchdog Declares Binance Cannot Be Supervised Properly
In a document published on Wednesday, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) declared that the world’s biggest crypto exchange platform is not capable of being properly supervised and poses a significant risk to consumers.
In the past weeks, Binance has come under pressure from regulators across the world due to concerns over the use of crypto in money laundering and the risks it poses to consumers. In June, the FCA banned Binance from conducting any regulated activity within the UK and placed numerous requirements on the platform.
In a document dated June 25, the FCA explains: "Based upon the Firm’s engagement to date, the FCA considers that the Firm is not capable of being effectively supervised. This is of particular concern in the context of the Firm’s membership of a global Group which offers complex and high-risk financial products, which pose a significant risk to consumers.”
A spokesman for Binance said that the crypto exchange platform has fully complied with all the FCA’s requirements and that it will continue to engage with the watchdog to resolve any outstanding issues. In Wednesday’s document, the FCA confirmed that Binance’s UK arm was not currently carrying out any regulated activity within the country and had not done so for over 12 months.
However, the FCA also said that it sent two requests for information about Binance’s wider global business model and its stock tokens. In the document, the UK watchdog said: "The FCA considers that the firm's responses to some questions amounted to a refusal to supply information.”