There is uncertainty in some crypto networks due to the recent publishing of a comprehensive list of payment service providers to be probed in 2023 by the Lithuanian financial watchdog.
Binance Visa Card Issuer Under Scrutiny
Authorities in Lithuania, notably the central bank, are pushing hard on the industry that facilitates electronic payments. A financial watchdog recently made a statement in which it named the financial firms that are currently being looked into. There are numerous well-known names among them: Revolut, Swedbank, UCCU, LTL Credit union, Finansines Paslaugos Contis, UAB Rebellion Fintech Services, UAB Guru Pay, and many more.
Binance and Crypto.com, among others, will be impacted by the probe of those service providers.
Binance exchange has a partnership with the network Contis, which is being looked at. If you look at the website for the platform, you’ll see that the Binance Card is something that Contis Bank is responsible for making and distributing.
Numerous charges have been made about the Contis network. As a first step, the central bank of Lithuania has flagged this system as having security and information technology risk management problems. The allegations also include possible infringement of laws meant to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The announcement states that the probe of Contis Bank will occur in the first quarter of 2023. Especially in the first quarter, the connection between Contis and Binance may affect service delivery in the exchange. However, it is not apparent if the ongoing investigations into Contis are connected to the exchange’s Binance ties.
A number of financial regulators looked closely at Binance a few years ago. Some of Binance’s key partners, like Barclays and Santander banks, left because of the scrutiny. In spite of this, Contis is still working with Binance to issue Visa cards.
Transactive Systems, An Affiliate Of Crypto.Com, Looked Into
One of the largest cryptocurrency trading networks, Crypto.com, has also been affected by recent events. Another network reportedly under investigation is Lithuania’s Transactive Systems UAD. After conducting investigations into Transactive Systems UAB, Lithuania’s central bank recently declared that it has uncovered violations of anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulations.
The financial network was told to stop “creating business contacts with new clients and not to give services to existing clients who provide financial services” because of the suspected infractions. It has been claimed that Crypto.com has been impacted since the resulting scrutiny is making it difficult for customers to make purchases.
Although the Central Bank of Lithuania is presently cracking down on cryptocurrencies, it has permitted various cryptocurrency projects in the past.
