US weighs up possible charge against crypto giant Binance

US PROSECUTORS are considering bringing criminal charges against cryptocurrency giant Binance as regulators ramp up pressure on digital currency exchanges.

The US Justice Department is considering charges against company executives including unlicensed money transmissions, money laundering conspiracy and sanctions violations, Reuters reported. No final decisions over the potential charges have been made.

Reuters reported that US investigators remained split on whether to bring charges. Some authorities were still seeking more information.

A Binance spokesman said: “We don’t have any insight into the inner workings of the US Justice Department, nor would it be appropriate for us to comment if we did.”

The spokesman added: “As has been reported widely, regulators are doing a sweeping review of every crypto company against many of the same issues.”

Tigran Gambaryan, head of global investigations at Binance, said the company had responded to “over 47,000 law enforcement requests” and increased its security headcount by more than 500pc.

The US Justice Department was contacted for comment.

The investigation into Binance comes as the cryptocurrency markets reels from the collapse of $32bn (£26bn) digital coin exchange FTX.

Binance, the world’s largest digital coin exchange, has painted itself as a white knight in the market amid the FTX chaos, launching a $2bn rescue fund to bail out rivals.

Cryptocurrency exchanges are facing mounting pressure over the operations and financial backing after the collapse of FTX, which allegedly misused customer funds to pay for risky investments at a sister hedge fund.

In an effort to soothe investor nerves, Binance issued a recent “proof of reserves” report conducted by audit firm Mazars, which claimed the exchange was 97pc collateralized.