Pakistani regulator engages Binance to investigate token fraud

The Pakistani Federal Investigation Agency sent a request to the Binance exchange for assistance in finding the organizers of fraudulent projects that raised up to $ 100 million.

Pakistan Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)
begining investigation after numerous complaints from citizens who became victims of cryptocurrency scammers. According to the victims, they were deceived by the attackers, who convinced them to register on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, transfer their money there, and then send digital assets to third-party addresses. In return, the deceived users were promised “fabulous profits”.

The agency discovered 11 fraudulent mobile apps that suddenly stopped working after stealing MCX, HFC, HTFOX, FXCOPY, OKIMINI, BB001, AVG86C, BX66, UG, TASKTOK and 91fp tokens. The average number of users of each application reached 5,000. The scammers also added people to special groups on Telegram, where they were provided with “signals from experienced traders.” The average loss per user was about $ 2,000, and the total loss reaches $ 100 million.

“These cryptocurrency schemes only benefit their organizers or early adopters by attracting new users. But in the end, these projects disappear, having collected billions of rupees from gullible people, ”the FIA ​​said.

The agency has sent legal notice to Binance regional manager Hamza Khan in an attempt to link the exchange to fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications. The agency demanded that Khan clarify the situation, and sent a similar request to Binance Holdings Limited in the Cayman Islands and Binance US. The agency found at least 26 suspicious addresses on Binance, where stolen cryptoassets could be transferred, and demanded that the exchange “freeze” these accounts.

Binance is also required to provide detailed information on these addresses, including the API mechanism used by fraudsters to use Binance. The FIA ​​has already blocked bank accounts associated with suspicious apps. The department warned that, in case of non-compliance with its requirements, the State Bank of Pakistan will have the right to impose sanctions on Binance.

In December, the FIA ​​blocked more than 1,000 bank accounts used for transactions through the exchanges Binance, Coinbase and Coinmama.

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