Binance launches programme to combat crypto crimes

Binance, the blockchain ecosystem behind the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, says its global law enforcement training programme has grown exponentially since the expansion of its investigations team in the last year.

The programme, described as the industry’s first coordinated effort across the globe, was created by Binance to help law enforcement and prosecutors detect financial and cybercrimes and to assist in the prosecution of bad actors.

“As more regulators, public law enforcement agencies and private sector stakeholders look closely at crypto, we are seeing an increased demand for training to help educate on and combat crypto crimes,” said Tigran Gambaryan, global head of intelligence and investigations at Binance. “To meet that demand, we have bolstered our team to conduct more training and work hand-in-hand with regulators across the globe.”

Over the past year, the Binance Investigations team has conducted and participated in more than 30 anti-cyber and financial crimes workshops with law enforcement in various countries including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, Philippines, Sweden, South Korea, the UK among others.

The training programme is led by leaders from the Binance Investigations team made up of security experts and former law enforcement agents, including world-renowned experts having helped take down some of the world’s largest crypto criminal platforms, including Silkroad and Hydra.

The full-day training programme includes in-person workshops on the concepts of blockchain and crypto assets. The curriculum also includes insight on the evolving legal and regulatory environment. Binance’s anti-money laundering (AML) policies and the investigative methods developed by the company to detect and prevent potential frauds are also discussed in detail.

As a result of its robust compliance and AML programmes, Binance recently secured approvals and registration in France, Italy and Spain, among others, making the exchange one of the few crypto companies to accomplish this within G7 countries.

“Protecting users is our number one priority at Binance. We work hand-in-hand with law enforcement to track and trace suspected accounts and fraudulent activities, contributing to the fight against terrorism financing, ransomware, human trafficking, child pornography and financial crimes,” said Gambaryan, a former special agent of the Internal Revenue Service: Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Cyber Crimes Unit.

Since November 2021, the Binance Investigations team has responded to more than 27 000 law enforcement requests with an average of three days response time which is faster than any traditional financial institution. “Binance is known among law enforcement to have a fast response system, unmatched by any traditional financial institution,” said Gambaryan.

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