Lagarde's Reported Intervention in Binance's EU License Bid Raises Questions
The European Central Bank president, Christine Lagarde, reportedly intervened in Binance's bid for a Markets in Crypto-Assets license through Greece. The Wall Street Journal claims she personally phoned Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as Binance was trying to secure the license.
Binance had already cleared more of the process than critics may think, with Gillian Lynch, head of Europe and the U.K., saying in July that her company's application was complete and expected authorization in early June. However, the application stalled after Lagarde allegedly expressed concerns about Binance's scale potentially weakening the ECB's digital euro project.
The compliance record cannot be waved away for Binance, which has a history of issues including pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and failing to register as a money transmitting business. The company agreed to pay $4.316 billion in penalties and forfeiture.