In a bid to adhere to regulatory policies, Binance cryptocurrency exchange has hired a former US Internal Revenue Service agent to lead its new intelligence unit.
Binance said Thursday that Tigran Gambaryan has joined the firm as vice president of global intelligence and investigations. Since joining the IRS as a special agent in September 2011, Binance is Gambaryan’s first private-sector employer.
Gambaryan investigated matters concerning national security, terrorism financing, tax evasion, and identity theft while at the IRS. He was also a part of the investigation into Silk Road, a dark web marketplace where some of the first cryptocurrency transactions took place.
The FBI shut down Silk Road in October 2013, and founder Ross Ulbricht was caught and sentenced to a double life sentence plus 40 years in prison with no chance of parole.
Gambaryan will be in charge of internal and external investigations at Binance in order to “avoid dangers and financial losses.” In addition, the audit and investigations team will collaborate closely with law enforcement and regulatory organizations.
In reaction to regulatory instability around the world, Binance looks to be beefing up its compliance efforts. For allegedly failing to comply with local licensing rules, the exchange has been compelled to stop operations and trading services in numerous regions, including Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Canadian province of Ontario.
In response to regulatory demands, Binance has lately moved to prohibit fiat deposits and provide spot crypto trading services in Singapore. In Australia, the exchange similarly stopped offering cryptocurrency futures and options.
