Elizabeth Warren asks DOJ to investigate Binance’s statements to Congress

Senators said June 8 that the U.S. Department of Justice should investigate statements previously made by Binance and take action as necessary.

Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Van Hollen alleged that Binance and Binance.US made false statements to Congress in a March 2023 letter.

At that time, Binance said that its global and U.S. companies are separate entities and that Binance.US is highly compliant with regulations.

Senators says Binance ‘undermined’ process

However, senators said that these statements are not true in light of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s new charges against Binance and associated parties. That case notably describes Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s alleged role in helping U.S. customers evade geographic blocks — a fact mentioned by senators today.

Senators said that Binance’s apparently dishonest response is critical because bipartisan regulators originally sought information that would inform the introduction of new laws. Binance and Binance “undermined this process,” senators said.

DOJ could impose fines, prison time

Senators asserted that Binance and Binance.US’s statements could violate federal law and allow the DOJ to impose fines and imprisonment on executives.

Zhao and many other Binance executives are not citizens of the U.S., and as such, it is unclear to what extent the DOJ could take action against those individuals.

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