Several blocked people complained to Binance and the police but have not received any response yet. They warned that they could prove that all their cryptocoins came from legal activities.
The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) suspected some Colombian Binance users received cryptocurrencies for alleged criminal activities. Those affected explained that this led the exchange to freeze their funds and block their accounts.
Jairo Vélez said Binance blocked his funds on September 29th, and he has not been able to access them since then. Officials of the exchange explained that FIOD had the funds seized from his wallet.
On the same day Binance blocked the account of Vélez, Andrea Torrente received the notice that the same happened to hers. The Dutch police authorities suspected that the coins that it housed came from illicit activities.
She mentioned that has happened to many more people, some of whom managed to recover their money. However, only those who had not received a blocking notice from the Netherlands could do so.
Like Vélez, Torrente has also started legal action against Binance to recover his cryptocurrency holdings. Their respective lawyers requested Binance to unblock their funds. However, they have not yet received any response from the platform.
Blocked Users Warn they Can Prove their Funds Are Legal
Tommas said his financial statement is up to date to show his money has a legal origin. His lawyer recommended that he collect that information to justify his funds in the legal process.
Andrea Torrente expressed that she did not understand how they could involve honest people in those delicate accusations. She said she used the exchange to buy and sell USDT through arbitrage to profit from a price difference.
César Maya stated she found that the investigation involved some of her blocked transactions. They supposedly had indirect involvement with the darknet. He said he purchased them in good faith from a person who received tainted funds.
Those supposedly illicit funds did not even represent 1% of their movements, but Binance seized all their money. They cannot access their accounts directly, and the platform tells them to contact support.
Binance and FIOD Give No Explanation for the Blockings
The affected users commented they had contacted Binance many times to recover their funds but had not received any solution. They have told the platform that they must communicate with FIOD via e-mail.
Juan Pombo mentioned Binance and FIOD had maintained complete silence about his constant messages. He believes they seek to make the affected users abandon any attempt to recover their funds.
Jairo Vélez stated they had only received a massive message from the FIOD in early October. The agency notified them that they suspected the assets in their wallets had come from illegal activities like money laundering. He replied that he did not engage in crime.
Cryptocurrency exchanges have to deal with the trade of funds coming from illicit activities. However, they must give a prompt response to honest users who want to recover their money. The Colombian people affected by Binance expect the platform will find a solution to their problem soon.
By Alexander Salazar
