- Binance cut ties with its payments partner Capitual due to the latter’s illicit activities.
- Capitual said that the issue was caused by Binance’s failure to comply with the new Central Bank requirements.
- The Binance spokesperson shared that the exchange aided in investigating Capitual’s creator.
While Brazilian users have yet to do real-based direct deposits and withdrawals in Binance, with the global crypto exchange preparing for its legal dispute against its recently terminated local payments partner, Capitual, a Binance spokesperson reached out to CQ to clarify the issue.
The spokesperson said that Binance decided to cut ties with Capitual due to their conflicting values, citing the payment service’s illicit activities:
Binance can confirm that Capitual no longer provides payment services to their users due to actions taken by Capitual that conflict with Binance’s values.
Notably, a local news portal reported that Capitual profited from withdrawals from Binance customers from Pix and TED fees, “plus operations with money that ‘slept’ at the company.”
It can be remembered that just this week, Binance announced that direct withdrawals and deposits were halted due to a change in its local payments provider and that the exchange is taking legal steps against it.
Furthermore, the spokesperson added that the exchange “will announce a new Brazilian partner in the coming days.” As mentioned in the release, Binance is in the process of acquiring local brokerage firm Sim;paul, which is already authorized by Brazil’s Central Bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM).
However, Capitual clapped back, saying that the issue was caused by Binance’s failure to comply with the new requirements set by the Central Bank. Earlier this week, KuCoin and Huobi, exchanges working with Capitual, have already adapted their systems to the changes and will remain operational on the platform.
Brazil’s Central Bank previously imposed a deadline for Pix providers to enforce new know-your-customer (KYC) requirements.
In 2021, Capitual’s creator, Glaidson Acácio dos Santos, was jailed for charges of money laundering, crimes against the National Financial System, and participation in organized crime.
The Binance spokesperson shared that the company’s investigations team aided in the investigation last year that froze dos Santos’ accounts and identified his illegal earnings sourced globally. They said the team continues to do so to this day.