Binance has never owned a stake in Zanmai Labs, the company behind Indian platform WazirX. This was stated by the CEO of bitcoin exchange Changpeng Zhao.

2/ On November 21, 2019, Binance published a blog post in which it “acquired” WazirX. This process was never completed. Binance has never owned a stake in Zanmai Labs, the entity that operates WazirX.

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) August 5, 2022

On November 21, 2019, the company announced that it had acquired WazirX. According to the press release, as of November 25, users in India were able to buy and sell digital assets in local currencies through Binance.

“This deal never happened. Zhao said that Binance never owned a stake in Zanmai Lab, which runs WazirX.

According to him, the exchange provides the Indian platform with a technical solution for the wallet. For recording and other functions including recording KYCZhao blamed WazirX and the firm behind it.

3/ Binance provides wallet services only for WazirX as a technology solution. There is also integration using off-chain tx to save on network fees. WazirX is responsible for all other aspects of the WazirX exchange, including user registration, KYC, initiating trading and withdrawals.

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) August 5, 2022

In August 2022, the Enforcement Office of the Ministry of Finance of India suspected that WazirX had laundered $350 million. According to press reports, the regulator froze the assets of the exchange for $8.16 million as part of the lawsuit.

The investigation into the platform’s violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act was first made public in June 2021.

Later, the media announced that authorities were examining the activities of applications managed by Chinese operators – some of the money was allegedly laundered through the bitcoin exchange.

In early 2022, the platform was accused of tax evasion in excess of $6 million.

Recall that in July, Reuters published an investigation, according to which Binance continued to serve customers from Iran, bypassing the US sanctions and the ban on doing business in this country.

In order to comply with regulatory requirements, exchange representatives denied the journalists’ conclusions. They also noted that the company lost “about 90% of its customers and billions of dollars in revenue” due to the introduction of KYC. Zhao later called this quote erroneous.

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