ASIC sues Binance over allegedly failing to provide consumer protection for retail clients

Binance’s Australian arm comes under fire from Australian regulators that accuse the crypto exchange of falsely categorizing local clients as wholesale clients, exposing them to risky crypto assets.

According to a press release published on Dec. 18, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission accused Binance Australia Derivatives of misclassifying more than 500 retail clients as “wholesale clients.” As a result, the exchange did not provide the necessary consumer protection for these clients who were exposed to high-risk crypto assets.

According to the Australian financial services laws, firms are required to provide retail clients with a product disclosure statement and give them access to a compliant dispute resolution scheme. The Australian body alleged the exchange failed to do so for 83% of its Australian client base from a time period that spanned July 7, 2022 until April 21, 2023.

ASIC Deputy Chair, Sarah Court, claimed that Binance failed to ensure proper customer protection for its services in accordance with the Australian financial services license, which Binance Australia held at the time before it was cancelled in April 2023.

“Many of these clients suffered significant financial losses. In 2023, we oversaw compensation payments by Binance of approximately $13 million to affected clients,” said Court in a statement.

According to the document, ASIC also accused Binance of failing to make a target market determination, not having a compliant internal dispute resolution system, and being unable to ensure its employees were “competent to provide the financial services provided,” inferred from how the client wholesale assessment was conducted.

As a result of these allegations, ASIC stated that it shall take further legal action by seeking penalties, declaration and adverse publicity orders.

“We are consulting with the sector to improve regulatory clarity, and ASIC will continue to use the full range of regulatory and enforcement tools to safeguard consumers and uphold market integrity in the digital asset sector,” added Court.

On April 6, 2023, ASIC cancelled the Australian financial services or AFS license held by Binance Australia Derivatives in response to a cancel request from the firm.

In July 2023, Australian authorities launched a raid on the office of Binance Australia’s derivatives division as part of an extensive investigation conducted by ASIC.

Back then, the ASIC investigation was triggered by speculations related to claims that Binance improperly classified retail investors as wholesale clients, who require a higher level of consumer protection.