UAE detentions revive question about Binance bank accounts

The recent police detention of Binance employees in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) bears a resemblance to a 2023 incident when US regulators probed Binance after a close associate of then-CEO Changpeng Zhao (‘CZ’) personally controlled corporate bank accounts and customer funds.

According to the New York Times, UAE law enforcement detained Binance employees at airports this summer and held one overnight in a Sharjah police station. Police found their names on a corporate bank account that Binance used to process customer deposits and withdrawals.

Binance Dubai launched direct fiat (AED) deposits and withdrawals on June 2, 2026. The exchange’s own support documentation shows deposits moving by ADCB bank transfer into Binance FZE via virtual IBANs. 

Certainly, any consequence of this year’s incident differs by orders of magnitude relative to three years ago.

In 2023, Binance ended up paying a $4.3 billion settlement over US anti-money laundering and sanctions allegations, whereas this month’s incident has so far cost Binance workers only two airport detentions and one night in police custody.

Indeed, Binance has emphatically stated that these employees were “promptly cleared and released” this month after “inquiries relating to third-party fund flows.” The exchange claims that other matters were the subject of “routine” questions, saying these employees were “never the targets or subjects of these inquiries.”

Read more: Binance commingled funds at Silvergate: Reuters

Binance repeat performance, or separate UAE incident?

In 2023, Reuters reported that Guangying ‘Heina’ Chen controlled five Silvergate accounts for the supposedly independent Binance.US in prior years. According to Reuters, Binance.US asked Chen’s team to process payments and even cover a few payroll disbursements.

Binance.US insisted it ran its own accounts. The US Securities and Exchange Commission disagreed.

Binance holds a full Virtual Asset Service Provider regulatory licence from Dubai’s VARA, issued in April 2024. 

In December, the Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority also granted Binance.com full authorization in their emirate. That authorization took effect January 5, 2026. 

Police detention of Binance employees this month in the UAE involve a similarity with conduct in 2023, although no UAE regulator has publicly accused the exchange of misconduct in relation to this month’s detentions.

In early 2025, Abu Dhabi state-backed MGX invested $2 billion into Binance via USD1, a stablecoin of Donald Trump family’s World Liberty Financial. A few months later, Trump pardoned Binance’s CZ in October 2025.

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