MAS flags Binance.com on Investor Alert List

[reporter2]

MAS flags Binance.com on Investor Alert List

Sep 02, 2021

IN the wake of scrutiny from authorities around the world, crypto exchange Binance.com has on Thursday been placed on the Singapore central bank's Investor Alert List.

This list, which currently flags 699 companies, details entities not regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) but may have given investors the impression that they are licensed or regulated by the MAS.

The top global cyrpto bourse's UK arm, Binance Markets, was in June banned from doing regulated business in the UK over concerns that it was not doing enough to prevent money laundering and other financial crimes on its platform.

Earlier, Japan's financial regulator issued a notice warning that Binance was not registered to do business within the country.

In response to media queries in June, the MAS had said it is aware of actions taken by other regulatory authorities against Binance and "will follow up as appropriate with (Binance Asia Services)".

Binance Asia Services (BAS), the Singapore unit of Binance, operates as a separate legal entity and does not offer any products or services via Binance.com. It runs the Binance.sg platform. The MAS had said in June that it is reviewing BAS's application for a licence under the Payment Services Act.

BAS is currently exempted from holding a licence for the provision of digital payment token services, under transitional arrangements in the Act.

[reporter2]

Singapore Says Binance May Have Breached Payment Regulation

By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen

September 2, 2021

MAS is reviewing local Binance unit’s application for license
MAS asks the parent company to stop services regulated locally

Singapore’s financial regulator said Thursday Binance Holdings Ltd. may be in breach of the local payment regulation and asked the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange to stop offering services regulated in the city state.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore “is of the view that Binance, the operator of Binance.com may be in breach of the Payment Services Act for carrying on the business of providing payment services to, and soliciting such business from Singapore residents without an appropriate license,” it said in response to questions from Bloomberg.

As Binance didn’t apply for a license under local law, the MAS has added Binance.com to the investor alert list, which warns consumers that Binance isn’t regulated or licensed to provide any payment services locally.

The Singapore regulator’s warning marks the latest blow for Binance, which has grown massively since its 2017 debut. The firm, which doesn’t have a global headquarters, also has drawn scrutiny from regulators from the U.S., Thailand, Malaysia and Japan.

Its Singapore operations are conducted by a separate legal entity from Binance.com, with its own local executive and management team, and does not offer any products or services via the Binance.com website or other related entities, and vice versa, Binance Singapore said in an emailed reply to Bloomberg.

Binance Asia Services, which operates Binance.sg, has submitted a license application, and is currently exempted from holding a license for the provision of digital payment token services, MAS said. The application remains under review, and subject to it demonstrating that it is able to meet requirements under the Payment Services Act, MAS said.

MAS has been engaging BAS and expects the firm to immediately begin an orderly suspension of its facilitation of transfers of digital payment token assets between BAS and Binance, according to the regulator.

The Singapore unit of Binance will inform its customers of the appropriate arrangements as soon as practicable, according to MAS.