The exchange’s Burkina Faso statement omits a guilty plea, a $4.3bn settlement and its July exit from the European market.
Binance has issued a statement setting out its compliance, security and user-protection commitments for West Africa. The exchange said its compliance programme goes beyond what is expected of traditional financial institutions in many markets.
Samukele Mkhize, Compliance Lead for Binance Africa, said compliance is “a continuous commitment to doing the right thing for users, regulators and the communities we serve.”
Binance said every user must verify their identity before trading or withdrawing, every transaction is monitored for fraud and money laundering, and suspicious activity is reported to authorities.
It notes its compliance under a framework licensed by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority, with separate regulated entities for exchange operations, custody, and clearing and settlement.
The crypto company cited its ‘Proof of Reserves’ system and its ‘Secure Asset Fund for Users’ (SAFU) as protections exceeding those of many traditional institutions.
Statement omits chequered Binance history
The statement omits the company’s regulatory record. Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in November 2023 to US charges of failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering programme.
Binance agreed to pay $4.3bn to settle the case, and Zhao stepped down as CEO. At the time, prosecutors said Binance processed more than 1.5m trades worth nearly $900m in violation of US sanctions, including transactions involving Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades, al-Qaeda and Iran, and that the platform moved funds linked to child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking.
Zhao was sentenced in April 2024 to four months in prison by a federal court in Seattle and personally paid a $50m fine. He served the sentence in 2024, before President Donald Trump granted him a full and unconditional pardon on 23 October 2025. Senator Elizabeth Warren called the pardon “corruption” and cited Zhao’s ties to World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture launched by Trump and his sons.
Locked out of Europe
Across the Atlantic, European regulators have restricted Binance repeatedly. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) barred its local arm from regulated activity in June 2021, and no Binance entity holds FCA authorisation. The crypto company exited the Netherlands in July 2023 after failing to secure registration, having been fined €3.3m ($3.8m) by the Dutch central bank (De Nederlandsche Bank), and halted Belgian operations the same month.
Binance lost access to the EU market on 1 July 2026, after it withdrew its application for a licence under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in Greece on 24 June 2026, days before the deadline. It came after reports emerged that the Hellenic Capital Market Commission was preparing to reject it.
Around 210 of more than 3,000 crypto firms secured MiCA authorisation; Coinbase, Kraken, OKX and Crypto.com all passed. Media reports said the Greek assessment turned on Binance’s penalty history and whether Zhao could meet MiCA’s “fit and proper” test for owners and managers.
The company’s West Africa statement presents voluntary high standards to a market with no local crypto-licensing regime compelling them. Binance did not respond to the compliance failures in its record within the statement, and did not reference the EU suspension.
