Binance controlled its US arm's bank accounts for two years: Reuters
Bank records and company messages have revealed that Binance US relied on Binance to process payments and cover payroll, in complete contradiction to the firm’s insistence that it operated independently, Reuters reported on Monday. Now-defunct Silvergate Bank authorized Binance exec Guangying Chen to move funds held in Binance US accounts in 2019 and 2020, bank records revealed. Chen, a close associate of Binance chief Changpeng Zhao (CZ), was asked by US employees to process payments and cover payroll, according to company messages. In February, Reuters reported that an employee in Chen’s team had access to one Binance US Silvergate account, which transferred over $400 million to Merit Peak, a trading firm controlled by CZ, back in 2021. Further, the outlet reported that Binance commingled customer funds with corporate revenues in Merit Peak’s Silvergate account. Binance denied both investigations. This latest news further discredits Binance’s claims that its US arm had “exclusi...