Binance Faces Probe By Canadian Securities Regulator

• Binance is reportedly being probed by the Ontario Securities Commission.
• The investigation is to determine if the crypto exchange attempted to evade local regulations and compliance controls. 
• The crypto exchange announced its departure from Canada two days after it was served the investigation order. 
• Binance is facing a similar probe in Brazil for allegedly helping clients evade a ban on derivatives trading.  

Binance has found itself under regulatory scrutiny again, this time at the hands of a securities regulator in Canada. The Ontario Securities Commission is probing the world’s largest crypto exchange to determine if it attempted to avoid local regulations and compliance controls while seeking approval to operate in the country. 

Binance Departed Canada Two Days After Receiving Probe Order

According to a report by Bloomberg, Binance was served the probe order by the Ontario Securities Commission on May 10, 2023. Just two days after the investigation was opened, the crypto exchange announced that it would exit the Canadian crypto market. At the time, the crypto exchange blamed its decision to depart on Canada’s “challenging” regulatory landscape and the recently introduced guidance for stablecoins and investor limits. The exchange did not reveal that it was being probed by one of the country’s top securities regulators. 

Binance revealed the probe by the Ontario Securities Commission in a recent filing with the Capital Markets Tribunal. The investigation order didn’t allege any breaches of Ontario securities laws on the crypto exchange’s part. The summons issued by the securities regulator required the exchange to produce documents associated with the scope of the investigation. This includes a blanket request for “all communications regarding Ontario (or Canada generally) among directors, officers, employees, contractors, agents and consultants of the exchange and its associated entities. The summons was addressed to the exchange and didn’t name any individual.

“The Investigation Order authorizes an extremely broad inquiry into whether Binance may have taken steps to circumvent Ontario securities law and compliance controls in relation to Binance.com or engaged in conduct contrary to Ontario securities law and/or the public interest without any limitation.”

The probe from the Canadian securities regulator comes a month after Brazil’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Police started an investigation into Binance for allegedly offering securities to its clients by helping them evade a stop order on crypto futures.