Binance refuses to pay fine in Uzbekistan, case to go to court

The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has refused to pay a fine for operating without a license in Uzbekistan, as stated by Viacheslav Pak, the deputy director of the National Agency for Project Management.

"At a press conference on February 6, Pak said, "We had fined Binance, registered in an offshore zone, for operating without a license in Uzbekistan. As expected, they refused to pay the fine. Therefore, based on the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, we will file a lawsuit and a corresponding decision will be made."

He added that the court decision would be sent through official channels to the jurisdiction where Binance is registered for enforcement, and the exchange will be ensured to operate in compliance with Uzbekistan's legal requirements.

The National Agency for Project Management fined Binance in January for 300 BCUs (102 million soums) for not taking the appropriate measures to obtain the relevant license in Uzbekistan.

Additionally, several legal violations were identified in the exchange's activities. It was noted that operations on the Binance platform were conducted with anonymous crypto assets, as well as crypto assets and funds obtained through criminal means (theft, fraud, etc.). The company is not a legal entity and there is no electronic platform located on the servers in the territory of Uzbekistan.

Moreover, the exchange has been accused of non-compliance with the country’s regulations governing the circulation of crypto-assets, as well as combating the legalization of proceeds from criminal activity, financing terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and also non-compliance with the laws on data protection and usage. It was also revealed that the company does not have a charter fund (capital) that should be kept in a separate account at a commercial bank of Uzbekistan.