Binance plans major expansion of its compliance team by 34%

Binance is expanding its compliance team, aiming for a 34% growth by the end of 2024, to strengthen its regulatory efforts and ensure a safer platform for its 240 million users.

This expansion is part of Binance’s commitment to becoming more compliant with regulatory requirements. This year, the company agreed with U.S. authorities to improve its compliance practices. It has increased its spending on compliance by 36% over the past year and claims to have implemented several new measures.

Binance expands compliance team with key appointments 

To build its regulatory expertise department, Binance has brought in some professionals from the finance and government worlds. It has made headlining hires like Todd McElduff, who has stepped in as the Enterprise Compliance Director. He has 20 years of experience in preventing financial crime from working with companies like PayPal and Morgan Stanley.

Another key figure is Lana Sinelnikova, who joined as the Director of Business Compliance and Enterprise-Wide Risk Assessment. She previously held senior positions at Kraken and Revolut.

Binance has also expressed a commitment to regional expertise to enhance its investigations and audits. In France, it has welcomed Céline Inial, a specialist in cybercrime investigations. Similarly, Caner Akyürek, a former senior official with the Turkish National Police, will be tackling investigations in Turkey.

It also appointed Pauline Chan as a compliance specialist for regulatory audits and exams. She brings nearly two decades of experience from institutions like HSBC and J.P. Morgan.

Binance turns the corner on regulatory compliance

In 2021, Tigran Gambaryan, who was with the IRS, joined Binance to lead its financial crime compliance. Noah Perlman became chief compliance officer in January 2023. In that same year, the exchange increased its spending on compliance by 36%.

In 2023, Binance agreed to pay a huge $4.3 billion fine to U.S. regulators for breaking the Bank Secrecy Act and allowing users to bypass international sanctions on behalf of Binance’s founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao “CZ”.

Richard Teng, who used to work as a regulator in Singapore and the UAE, became the new CEO after Zhao left. With Richard Teng as CEO, the exchange has appeared to move faster to follow rules, something the company claims it started working on before CZ left in November 2023.

Binance’s CEO, Richard Teng, is guiding the company toward regulatory clear waters. Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman stressed the importance of working closely with regulators.