Binance hires two US financial crime experts to bolster security
Crypto exchange giant Binance has hired two former special agents from the US’ Internal Revenue Service in a bid to win over regulators.
Binance has announced Tigran Gambaryan and Matthew Price will be the latest cyber security experts to join the company. Gambaryan will take over as VP of Global Intelligence and Investigations after a decade at the IRS while Price has been appointed Senior Director of Investigations with 15 years of experience in law enforcement and intelligence.
“The Binance investigations team now includes the top investigators in the world who have worked on some of the most significant cyber investigations in history with unmatched track records in this space,” said Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
“This level of experience will make Binance a leader in compliance, enhancing trust in Binance and the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a whole,” he added.
The news comes as the world’s largest crypto exchange by trade volume faces scrutiny from financial regulators for operating without proper permissions. In June the UK’s FCA issued a warning about Binance on its website causing major banks to stop British customers from using the exchange.
In the months since, Binance has pivoted from a reactive to a proactive stance on regulation according to CEO Zhao.
The latest hires follow the appointment of Greg Monahan, a US Treasury cyber crime expert to the role of Global Money Laundering Reporting Officer. The exchange has also upped its KYC requirements by adding extra security checks.
“I want to educate the worldwide law enforcement community on how Binance is a partner in the fight against the illicit use of cryptocurrency, keeping the ecosystem more secure and moving it forward sustainably,” said Tigran, commenting on his new role.
Tigran has led multi-billion dollar cyber investigations into illicit activity in the crypto space, including the Silk Road corruption investigations, the BTC-e bitcoin exchange, and the Mt. Gox hack.
Read more: Binance CEO announces timeline for public listing