Binance blocks illegal crypto exchange with $34m turnover

In Kazakhstan, the operation of the illegal cryptocurrency exchange ABS Change has been halted. The local Financial Monitoring Agency reports this.

According to authorities, from 2021 to 2023, three citizens, circumventing the ban, conducted exchange operations outside the territory of the Astana International Financial Centre.

During searches of the suspects, investigators seized $342,000 and 7 million tenge (about $16,000) in cash. About $23,000 in cryptocurrency were found on two wallets on the Binance exchange. After authorities’ intervention, the platform blocked these funds.

According to an initial assessment, the exchange’s total turnover on Binance amounted to nearly $34 million.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

At the end of January, Kazakh authorities halted the operations of five unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges— KZobmen.com, 1WM.KZ, Kazobmen.ru, WM007.KZ and KZ-EXCHANGE.COM.

Subsequently, for dealings via one of these companies a court ordered the seizure of the assets of a Russian citizen, including real estate and cryptocurrency on the Binance exchange.