Has Binance FIU proven that codes can stop cross-border crime?

Over the past few months, Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has been caught in the spotlight, not as an abstract regulator, but as an active, global crime fighting partner. Is the question of age? Cryptocurrency can prevent cross-border crime?

The criminals in early 2024 accused two ethnic executives in the Philippines, Southeast Asia. They demanded a $3.75 million ransom in cryptocurrency, because the digital trails were too complicated and too fluid to stop, and too fast for law enforcement to catch up.

The perfect crime seemed to backfire after Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, stepped in to help.

Their financial information unit has worked with law enforcement to track blockchains, identify the wallets involved, freeze funds in real time, and uncover laundry trails that criminals believe are hiding them.

This case suggests that publicly accessible ledgers in cryptocurrencies may be key to solving crimes. It dismisses the idea that digital currency makes it easier to commit crimes across borders and flee with them.

However, it only worked because Binance chose to help. This raises some difficult questions. What happens if other platforms don’t do the same? What if a company refuses to provide information, takes too long to respond, or if there are no tools or staff to act quickly? And if some big exchanges like Binance can freeze the code or collect ransom money, does that mean that now they have too much power to decide when to act, who to help, how to help police and victims?

Users say this control raises issues of fairness, trust and accountability as it can affect private companies more than some governments.

Aidulators wash crypto ransom through casino junkets

The prisoners combined the ransom with other funds to make it untraceable. They sent it to multiple crypto wallets based in other countries via casino junkets. Because they are not well regulated and can quietly run huge amounts of cash and crypto.

The adductors have used the secrets of the junket to make the investigation extremely difficult. Junkets look like a travel planner or casino VIP service that helps rich people travel and gamble at luxury casinos, but they help drive money behind the scenes.

Philippine law enforcement contacted Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit to track Crypto’s roughly $3.75 million ransom payments scattered across several digital wallets.

Binance fiu intervenes

Binance’s FIU team used powerful blockchain analytics tools to track funds through public ledgers by analyzing movements, mapping related wallet addresses, and connecting to real user accounts on the platform.

They identified key wallets and accounts suspected to be part of the laundry operation. They tied $3.5 million worth of code directly into ransom payments to prevent criminals from cashing or transferring funds to other platforms.

Binance’s FIU helped turn what appears to be a hopeless digital trail into a clear path to justice, giving law enforcement the breakthroughs they need to understand how operations work.

Crypto solved the case, but critics say not all platforms belong to the task

For a long time, people have believed that codes have helped criminals move money hidden and without traces. Still, Aidation investigators can follow the digital trail to connect dots as the public blockchain records all crypto transactions.

Some users argue that Crypto has proven useful in bringing criminals to justice. One official stated, “Binance’s help was very important. The funds were very fragmented, but the blockchain didn’t lie.”

However, critics argue that small exchange or offshore platforms do not have the resources and experience to address these complex investigations, and can also ignore law enforcement requests and delay lawsuits. They say the incident raises concerns about the uneven capabilities of the broader crypto industry. Because its success depends heavily on Binance’s ability and willingness to work with the police.

Is Binance creating a pattern of success or just riding a lucky break?

Binance’s FIU is a strong crime prevention team that works closely with the police in high quality situations other than adduction in the Philippines. It helped to recover more than $6 million related to the fake investment wallet scam that affected dozens of casualties in Thailand’s Operation Fox Hunt. Alongside Malaysian local governments, they resolved yet another aid, returning more than $1.6 million in ransom paid in crypto.

The team has a faster turnaround (to respond to police requests within three days) than many would expect from a corporate investigation. Use blockchain tools to track and exchange funds across your wallet, or freeze suspicious assets before they disappear.

Binance fills the gaps that traditional financial systems and local police stations often struggle with, especially when crime quickly crosses borders and currency.

Binance’s outstanding track record shows what is possible when private platforms and public agencies work together with urgency and shared objectives. But the entire crypto ecosystem has yet to prove that it is ready or willing to stop crime at this level. The support of the company in these well-known cases was voluntary, based on internal policy and leadership choices.

Global Rules do not enforce a consistent legal obligation to require crypto exchanges to work with law enforcement, to freeze funds or share data, nor does it enforce international organizations that ensure that other platforms follow the example of Binance.

To fight against crypto crime, you need more than luck

Law enforcement agencies around the world need to invest their time, money and training in architecture teams that understand blockchain and follow digital money trails. Additionally, advanced forensic tools should be used to investigate crimes currently moving at digital speeds. Without this knowledge, they are already at risk of falling behind criminals who use these tools to hide their trucks.

Meanwhile, the Crypto platform needs to integrate strict compliance rules, real-time transaction monitoring, freeze protocols, and systems that allow police to respond quickly when they request assistance. Companies need to build dedicated teams like Binance’s FIU and provide the power and tools to step in quickly, as this could mean the difference between saving millions or losing everything.

Criminals also recognize that the law is catching up quickly, as digital money leaves a receipt that investigators can follow even months or years after the crime. Victims can expect better policies and measures to protect their money.

But Binance has proven that Crypto can stop cross-border adduct and see it as a tool rather than a threat, but another deep question arises.