Binance Joins Forces With Kazakhstan’s Regulators to Battle Local Financial Crime

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – Binance – signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Over the course of the agreement, both parties expressed a mutual interest in creating a safe crypto environment in the Asian country and bringing down financial crime in the area.

Binance’s Efforts in Kazakhstan

The trading venue revealed its intentions to expand in the Central Asian nation at the beginning of 2022. Back then, Gleb Kostarev – Eastern European Director of Binance – said the residents of Kazakhstan and some of its neighboring countries are “more loyal” to cryptocurrencies, which is why the company might strengthen its presence there.

Less than two months ago, the exchange fulfilled its goal by obtaining regulatory approval from the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA).

A recent announcement outlined that Binance has signed an MoU with the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The main purpose will be to grant domestic investors enhanced protection when delving into the digital asset universe.

The partners will also monitor whether criminals employ cryptocurrencies in their illicit affairs, including money laundering and terrorist financing, and block such assets if identified.

Tigran Ghambaryan – VP of Global Intelligence and Investigations at Binance – said the platform has “the most robust compliance program in the industry” and is capable of detecting suspicious activity and halting fraudulent cases.

“We express our gratitude to the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for their cooperation and commitment to solving problems in the rapidly growing cryptocurrency industry,” he added.

The signing of the Memorandum is part of Binance’s global training program that aims to reduce monetary crime and create a safe ecosystem for people who want to be part of the digital asset sector. The project has already taken place in Italy, France, Canada, the UK, Norway, Brazil, Paraguay, and Israel.

Kazakhstan’s Goals

Last week, the country’s President – Kassym-Jomart Tokayev – said the ruling body is willing to turn Kazakhstan into a global cryptocurrency hub. He added that the authorities might launch a project that will allow the conversion of digital assets to cash and vice versa in a regulated and secure manner:

“Currency conversion is already being carried out at the site of the Astana International Financial Center under a special pilot project. For this, quite innovative changes were made to national legislation and the regulatory environment. And we are ready to go further.”

Kazakhstan’s extra attention on cryptocurrencies could be a result of the migration wave coming from Russia in the past few weeks. Some reports estimate that nearly 100,000 Russians have entered the southern neighbor since Vladimir Putin ordered a “partial” mobilization.