Binance’s Key Official Hints at Paying Fine for Avoiding Potential SEC Dispute
In an interview, Patrick Hillmann, Chief Strategy Officer at the globally popular crypto platform, Binance, hinted at settling the regulator’s complaint by paying a fine.
Hillmann’s statement, which revealed Binance’s intention of paying a fine, was duly noted as a news item which was appeared in Wall Street Journal.
The Journal noted that Binance may be paying fines in connection with its past conduct against which regulators had raised concerns.
Hillman stated that Binance wants to end regulatory issues raised by US regulators and law enforcement agencies.
In this connection, he suggested that Binance plans to pay the fines for bailing itself out of potential disputes/legal battles.
Admits Binance’s Start Was Unfamiliar with the Consequences
Hillmann explained further that when Binance came into being it lacked awareness with regard to the importance of regulatory compliance.
He said that ‘with experience, Binance learned that ignoring compliance gives rise to social evils such as corruption, sanctions, laundering, and bribery’.
He informed me that Binance is currently cooperating with regulators in the US to fill the gaps in the digital asset industry.
He pointed out that Binance would be undergoing a massive ‘remediation’ process to reverse the damage caused by the firm unintentionally.
Hillmann then warned that paying fines would not be enough in resolving the issues once and for all.
He said that Binance does not wish to come face to face with the regulators in a legal dispute. He pointed out that getting into a legal battle shall be a last resort otherwise the firm would like to resolve the issues amicably.
Ongoing and Potential Investigations/Disputes Involving Binance
A number of authorities in the US, including regulators and investigating agencies, are probing the world’s leading crypto platform, Binance.
Similarly, there are ongoing disputes as well as potential disputes which Binance is/may be facing.
For instance, Binance is the subject matter of an investigation by one of the top US authorities namely the Department of Justice (DOJ).
As regards the investigation by DOJ, DOJ’s probe involves non-compliance by Binance in the past pertaining to anti-money laundering laws.
On the other hand, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) of the US are also investigating Binance.
Their investigations involve allegations of launching BNB without following the process i.e. registration of products and securities.
According to Hillmann, he cannot estimate how much Binance would be asked to pay as a fine by the US regulators and investigators. He is also not certain whether all the disputes could be resolved by payment of fines.
However, he is hoping that most likely the disputes can be brought to an end amicably through discussions.
Binance’s Commitment to meeting the Aspirations of All Concerned
Hillman stated that ‘Binance has been carrying the burden of the past which it wants to now lay to rest once and for all.’ He also admitted that regulatory compliance skipped the attention of the firm in the past.
He suggested that Binance has now grasped the idea what are the expectations of the US regulators from the firm. Now that they have an understanding, they will be acting accordingly and bring in amendments.
They will continue amending their policies to meet the expectations of the regulators in the United States. They are hopeful things will become quite promising for their users based in the US once they meet all the requirements.
He assured that Binance is committed to meeting the aspirations of regulators, law enforcement agencies, and its consumers in the US and elsewhere.
The fact is that Binance is not directly dealing with US consumers. Instead, its subsidiary called ‘Binance US’ is rendering services to consumers in the US.
Hence, the issues with US regulators and investigators are with regard to Binance US only and not Binance Global.
