Jarek Jakubcek, the head of Law Enforcement Training at Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, said he believes many law enforcement agencies have a positive impression of Binance because of its dedication to apprehending criminals who attempt to use their platform. Binance has collaborated on initiatives such as seizing funds from drug traffickers and a global anti-scam campaign.
“If you ask the majority of law enforcement agencies about their experience with Binance, they will be positive, because, quite frankly, Binance dedicates a lot of resources and attention to detecting criminal users on the platform," Jakubcek said in a blog post by Binance.
"Cybercrime and fraud know no boundaries," Binance said in the blog post. In order to combat that crime, Binance’s Investigations team is able to work across jurisdictions to "ensure a coordinated global response." The blog post said that crimes range from hacks to "traditional" crimes that involve crypto, and through collaborative efforts, Binance and its partners are able to work both to protect crypto users and to assist victims of crimes. "We also team up with law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to effectively deliver tips and best practices for fighting and preventing cryptocurrency crime to cryptocurrency users," the blog post said. "90% of our work is collaborative," Jakubcek said.
Last year, Binance collaborated with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to seize approximately $1.8 million worth of crypto connected to a narcotics operation, CoinDesk reported. Six accounts were identified as part of a pipeline between Michigan and Mexico and were reportedly used to change cash proceeds from drug sales into stablecoins and bitcoin. The crypto proceeds were then funneled to a Mexican criminal organization. An individual who works with law enforcement told CoinDesk that Binance and the DEA have a "pretty tight" relationship, and the two organizations often share information to tackle money laundering and other operations.
Earlier this year, Binance launched the pilot phase of a global anti-scam campaign in Hong Kong, CryptoSlate reported. Through the campaign, Binance and its law enforcement partners are working to educate consumers about scams and fraud and help them identify and avoid potentially fraudulent actors. Binance plans to bring the program to more jurisdictions in collaboration with local law enforcement and government agencies.
Jakubcek said that Binance assists law enforcement agencies around the world because "We’re the leaders in the industry, it’s our duty," according to the blog post. The post said that the benefits of collaborating with law enforcement include faster response times, more transparency, "and an overall more robust defense against criminal activity. When there is a united front against bad actors, everyone in the blockchain ecosystem is better off."
