Binance hires Ex-IRS agents to bolster its regulatory compliance

Both Tigran Gambaryan and Matthew Price investigated major cases while with the IRS

Binance has hired two former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigators as it looks to enhance its regulatory compliance.

In two separate announcements made on 30 September, the exchange revealed that former IRS Crimes Investigation special agents Tigran Gambaryan and Matthew Price were now part of its team.

According to Binance, the two bring vast experience to the exchange having worked for the IRS' Crimes Unit department based in Washington DC.

Push for regulatory compliance

Matthew Price joins Binance as Senior Director of Investigations. He comes to Binance after a 15-year stint in law enforcement. He helped the IRS investigate several high-profile cases, including BTC mixing service Helix.

"My interest in joining Binance stems from my desire to further strengthen government and industry collaboration to ensure crypto continues to grow and flourish throughout the world," he said.

Gambaryan takes up the position of VP of Global Intelligence and Investigations at Binance, bringing with him a decade of experience.

"As a Special Agent, Tigran investigated cases involving national security, terrorism financing, identity theft, distribution of child pornography, tax evasion, and bank secrecy act violations," the exchange added in the statement.

The agent was also at the heart of investigations into multiple multi-million dollar cases involving cyber crimes, which included the infamous Mt. Gox hack, darknet marketplace Silk Road, and crypto exchange BTC-e.

In comments made to Binance, Gambaryan noted that he was ready to work with the compliance team at the platform to "identify criminals and refer them for prosecution".

He also pointed to the need for cooperation between players in the burgeoning crypto industry and regulators. Binance is looking to bolster its reputation in this respect, especially in taking the lead against illegal activities such as ransomware, human trafficking and terrorist financing.

The recruitment of the two former agents comes as Binance looks to work with regulators after facing scrutiny across the US, UK, Germany and Singapore, among other countries.