The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) searched Binance Australia’s offices on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The sources, who asked not to be identified, said that visit from ASIC investigators was part of a probe into Binance Australia’s derivatives business that was shut down earlier this year.
In April, ASIC cancelled Binance Australia’s derivatives license after a request to do so came from the crypto exchange itself. At the time, Binance said it had decided to pursue a more focused approach in the country following engagement with the financial regulator.
ASIC Chairman Joe Longo, however, opined that Binance decided on this course of action because of the regulator’s ongoing review of the exchange’s operations and “further engagement” it had planned.
“While we note this latest development, I emphasise that ASIC will continue to monitor Binance’s operations, including the wind down of the derivatives business,” said Longo at the time.
In May, Binance Australia was forced to suspend some AUD fiat services after Cuscal, a third-party payment partner, abruptly cut ties with the exchange. Around the same time, major Australian banking institution Westpac banned customers from transacting with Binance as part of scam protection measures being rolled out at the firm.
“We received 24 hours’ notice of debanking at 11:30 pm in the evening, that was later turned into 12 hours, and so we had our banking cut off,” said Binance Australia regional manager Ben Rose at Australian Blockchain Week.
