The committee of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies recommended bringing charges against Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and three senior executives of the exchange’s local unit. Bloomberg reports.
\n\n
The parliamentary body is investigating the operation of pyramid schemes in the country and can only issue recommendations. The police will decide on any real enforcement actions, the agency noted.
\n\n
The committee leveled allegations against Zhao, Daniel Mangabeiro, Guilherme Haddad Nazar, and Tiago Carvalho for financial fraud, unlawful securities offerings, and the operation of an unregistered exchange.
\n\n
In the accompanying report, deputy Ricardo Silva noted that Binance is “surrounded by suspicions” in Brazil.
\n\n
The company said it had made “significant efforts” to cooperate actively.
\n\n
“The exchange categorically rejects any attempts to make Binance a target or to subject its users and employees to allegations of improper practices without any evidence in the context of competitive disputes, given the platform’s leading position in Brazil and in the world,” said a Binance spokesperson.
\n\n
The committee, comprising 28 congressmen, also recommended that the Public Prosecutor’s Office examine compliance with tax law by the local arm of the exchange and the Binance Capital Management unit.
\n\n
The deputies proposed that the Securities and Exchange Commission investigate the platform’s sale of derivatives after the prohibition was imposed.
\n\n
In April, media reported that law enforcement officials, at the agency’s request, were examining possible violations by Binance.
\n\n
The journalists noted that amid regulatory uncertainty around the exchange, the deal to acquire the regulated broker Sim;paul Investimentos has not yet been closed. The parties signed the agreement in March 2022, but regulators have not yet given approval.
\n\n
Earlier in June it emerged that the Committee’s examination of Binance’s ties to pyramid schemes in Brazil became known.