(Reuters) – Vinance executives met with US Treasury officials last month to loosen the company’s government oversight and explore a business deal with President Donald Trump’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, The Wall Street Journal said.
Executives at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange have asked Treasury officials to remove the US monitor, which oversees compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act, the paper said Friday, citing people familiar with the consultation.
Binance added that it is also in discussions to list cryptocurrencies with new dollars placed on it from World Liberty Financial.
At the meeting, Vinance CEO Richard Teng and Chief Justice Eleanor Hughes called for the removal of surveillance or reduction in the duration and scope of it, the paper said.
Binance, the Treasury Department, and World Liberty Financial did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Last month, the Journal said Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance’s billionaire, had sought a pardon from the administration.
In November 2023, Zhao resigned from his CEO role and pleaded guilty to breaking US anti-money laundering laws with a $4.3 billion settlement that settled a long-standing investigation.
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan of Bengaluru, edited by William Mallard and Clarence Fernandez)