French European Parliament Member Wants Binance Approval Regulatory Review

A French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) wrote a June 13 letter pushing for her country’s market regulator to review its approval of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, saying a news report shined a light on potential money-laundering activity on the platform, Reuters reported Tuesday (July 5).

Aurore Lalucq, who is also a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, wants regulators to justify its “incomprehensible” decision to register a Binance unit as a digital assets service provider, according to the report.

Lalucq pointed to a statement from the United Kingdom’s financial regulator that said Binance was “not capable of being effectively supervised,” and a Reuters report from June that said Binance was a conduit for at least $2.35 billion in laundered money.

Binance questioned the report, saying the platform was building “the most sophisticated cyber forensics team on the planet,” Reuters reported Tuesday.

Lalucq told Reuters that she wants to see more regulation of the cryptocurrency sector to prevent it being used for “criminal practices,” per the report.

Binance, which is considered the world’s largest crypto exchange, called its registration in France in May a “milestone achievement,” noting it includes digital asset services in Europe for the first time, the report stated. Binance has also said it wants to open a regional headquarters in France.

Last month, Lalucq urged the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) to review its ruling, which she said gave Binance a “guarantee of respectability.”

Read more: French Lawmaker Criticizes Binance Approval

Binance received a warm welcome in France, but the trading platform hasn’t been as lucky in other countries.

As PYMNTS reported, the company has been investigated in the United States by a host of federal agencies, including the IRS, Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Last year, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Binance was “not capable of being effectively supervised,” warning that it posed “a significant risk to consumers.” More recently, the FCA said it is concerned about possible risk to consumers stemming from a deal giving Binance access to U.K. payments network Paysafe.