- Advcash, a cash processor for Binance, is suspected to be a Russian cash laundering operation.
- Binance’s affiliation with Advcash raises considerations about using unknown third events for integration.
- Advcash’s operations are primarily targeted on the previous Soviet Union, with site visitors sources and staff situated in Russia and Ukraine.
An investigation by Ukrainian journalist Kollen Submit has instructed that cash processor Binance Advcash is a disguised Russian cash laundering operation. On July 18, crypto information platform Protos reported that the crypto funds processor is a “actual parade of purple flags in opposition to cash laundering.”
Protos additional claims that Advcash has thinly disguised origins in Russia and suspects ties to the federal government, and suspects its world acceptance of nameless money deposits and employment of “ghost employees”.
Subsequent, the report explores Advcash’s function in Binance’s operations, a difficulty the US SEC beforehand questioned Binance on. Primarily based on an e-mail trade between the crypto agency and the regulator, it has been revealed: a financial institution that will not onboard a buyer with a well-known title like Binance is tricked into doing so by a 3rd celebration with an unknown title.
In accordance with Protos, regardless of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao “cryptic insurance coverage“that Binance suffered no lack of belongings at Silvergate, the now-collapsed Silvergate and Signature Financial institution accounts loved believable deniability via ‘LLC No One Had Heard Of’.
The connection between Advcash and Binance is especially noteworthy, as Advcash facilitates crypto providers via integration with Binance accounts. Analytics knowledge indicated that Binance-associated domains are continuously visited by Advcash customers. Binance itself really useful Advcash as a way of changing cryptocurrency into fiat foreign money, a reality acknowledged by the SEC in its case in opposition to Binance, which included a screenshot of those tips as proof.
Moreover, Protos’ investigation revealed that whereas Advcash’s official firm is registered in Belize, the majority of its enterprise actions are situated within the former Soviet Union, as evidenced by knowledge from SimilarWeb, which highlighted Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Israel, and Venezuela as the highest sources of site visitors to Advcash’s web site. Moreover, a short overview of LinkedIn profiles revealed that almost all reported staff are in Russia and Ukraine.
Moreover, the corporate’s web site beforehand featured hotline numbers with Russian and Belizean space codes, with the Belizean quantity aligning with Moscow enterprise hours. Whereas the Belize Enterprise Registry supplies restricted info, the nation is listed as a serious cash laundering jurisdiction.
Moreover, Advcash has claimed partnerships with main Russian banks, together with these beneath US sanctions reminiscent of Yandex Cash, PrivatBank, AlfaBank and Sberbank. Early associations with the crypto world concerned BTC-e, a infamous cash laundering trade, and its successor, WEX, which had ties to Russian-backed militants and the Russian FSB.
