Crypto exchange Binance hires former US cybercrime expert to check money laundering

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced on Wednesday that the firm has appointed Greg Monahan, a former US Treasury criminal investigator, to operate as their global money laundering reporting officer. The move can be seen as an attempt by Binance to become a regulated financial firm and not just a big crypto exchange company.

Cryptocurrency has mostly thrived in unregulated markets and due to this, the financial regulators of various countries have started keeping an eye on them and even introduced rules to control their operations. For example, recently the UK, Italy and Hong Kong have denied Binance the permit to operate within their borders. The Malaysian government went a step further to legally charge the crypto giant for illegally functioning in their market. It was also reported earlier this year that Binance was under the close watch of the US Justice Department and its financial regulators.

After facing scrutiny from different countries, Monahan said in a public statement, "My efforts will be focused on expanding Binance’s international anti-money laundering and investigation programmes, as well as strengthening the organization’s relations with regulatory and law enforcement bodies worldwide.”

What are the difficulties in their attempts to expand?

Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao claimed last month that he was actively working to improve relations with the financial regulators of major companies and wanted to get their approval to set up regional headquarters. The statement made yesterday was an indication that Binance wants to expand internationally. The company's international compliance team and advisory board have grown by 500% since 2020. Binance has found it difficult to keep its new employees. Most recently, Brian Brooks was the chief executive of Binance's US arm for three months before resigning this month. He was the former acting US Comptroller of the Currency.