Anticor Reports Suspected Conflict of Interest Over Transfer of Former AMF Official to Binance
The organization Anticor has brought allegations of illegal conflict of interest to the attention of the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office regarding the transfer of a former senior official from the AMF to Binance.
Recruitment Context: The former deputy legal director of the AMF joined Binance in April 2022, shortly before Binance France SAS was registered as a PSAN by the AMF.
Requested Investigation: Anticor has called for an investigation into this transfer, raising concerns about possible conflicts of interest.
Questionable Transfer and Opportune PSAN Registration
In April 2022, a senior official from the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) left her position to join Binance as legal director. Shortly after, in May 2022, Binance France SAS was officially registered by the AMF as a digital asset service provider. Anticor has reported this coincidence to the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, suspecting illegal conflict of interest.
Doubts About AMF’s Verification
Anticor is questioning the integrity of the verifications conducted by the AMF prior to granting registration to Binance. These verifications were supposed to include the evaluation of the reliability of Binance’s executives and their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures. The situation is compounded by the investigations being carried out in the United States into Binance’s activities. In fact, the exchange and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, have recently pleaded guilty to multiple violations, including anti-money laundering laws.
The exchange has agreed to pay $4 billion to the CFTC, including a $2.7 billion fine. As for CZ, the former CEO, he will have to pay $150 million.
Anticor, through its lawyer, emphasizes the significance of this case, which affects both the worlds of finance and technology, and calls for awareness of the risks of conflicts of interest.
This event comes as Binance is already under investigation by the Paris prosecutor’s office since the beginning of the year for allegedly soliciting clients without French authorization and failing to comply with its obligations to monitor its clients’ funds.
