ASIC has cancelled the AFSL of Oztures Trading in response to a request from Binance Australia Derivatives on Wednesday, 5 April 2023.
Oztures Trading is the local entity of Binance. Binance will continue as a member of the AFCA until 8 April 2024, but clients will be unable to increase derivatives positions or open new positions with Binance from 14 April 2023.
Additionally, clients must also close any existing derivative positions before 21 April, which is when Binance will close any positions that are still open.
ASIC has been conducting a targeted review of Binance financial services business in Australia, including its classification of retail and wholesale clients.
On 29 March 2023, ASIC issued a notice of hearing to consider whether ASIC should cancel or suspend the AFS licence held by Oztures Trading.
Oztures Trading holds an AFS licence with authorisations to issue and make a market in derivatives and foreign exchange contracts; deal in specified financial products on behalf of another person and provide financial product advice in specified financial products to retail clients and wholesale clients.
Ownership of the licensee changed in January 2022 and it commenced offering derivatives as Binance Australia Derivatives in around July 2022.
On 27 March 2023, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it had filed a civil enforcement action in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois charging Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the Binance Group, and three entities that operate the Binance platform with numerous violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations. The complaint also charges Samuel Lim, Binance’s former chief compliance officer, with aiding and abetting Binance’s violations.
Binance group entities have been the subject of regulatory warnings and action from a number of overseas regulators. In addition to the CFTC, others include the UK Financial Conduct Authority, Japan Financial Services Agency, Italy Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Netherlands Central Bank, Ontario Securities Commission, and the Thailand Securities Exchange Commission.
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