Binance.US, the U.S. partner to the world’s largest crypto exchange and America’s home to buy, sell, trade, convert and stake digital assets, today announced the appointment of decorated former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, BJ Kang, as the company’s first Head of Investigations. In this role, BJ will lead and oversee all aspects of Binance.US’ commitment to protect users by partnering closely with law enforcement, regulators and industry peers - along with building Binance.US’ own investigations infrastructure - to identify and mitigate criminal activity related to digital assets on the platform as the company continues to strengthen its legal, compliance and risk functions.
“Binance.US operates with a compliance-first mindset, and over the past year we have made significant investments in our legal, regulatory, and compliance operations,” said Brian Shroder, CEO and President of Binance.US. “BJ is one of the most respected and accomplished professionals in federal law enforcement, and has played a key role in the investigation and prosecution of some of the highest profile financial and cyber crime cases in this millennium. He will be instrumental in strengthening our partnerships with law enforcement agencies and ensuring Binance.US continues to be a leader in developing a safe, secure digital asset marketplace for all Americans.”
BJ joins Binance.US with nearly two decades of experience at the FBI. For the past seven years, he was assigned to the FBI Washington Field Office (WFO) cyber crime squad, investigating complex international insider trading schemes, cyber-enabled money laundering, cyber extortion and hackers targeting crypto and financial firms, as well as high-ranking U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials. In 2014, BJ served as an FBI Supervisory Special Agent with the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF) Cyber Financial Pursuit Team, partnering with the IRS, U.S. Secret Service, FinCEN, HSI and private industries providing bitcoin tracing, blockchain analysis expertise, and related guidance to local and federal law enforcement throughout the United States.
From 2005 until 2011, BJ was based out of the FBI New York Office, where he served alongside a team of elite FBI Special Agents, forensic accountants, Assistant United States Attorneys, and Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys to disrupt and dismantle a massive insider trading network. He helped uncover the trafficking of confidential corporate information at the highest levels of American finance, leading to the successful prosecution of one of the largest-ever insider trading schemes. Earlier in his career, he investigated a variety of financial crimes, but became focused on insider trading at hedge funds in 2006.
BJ has been awarded numerous accolades for his achievements throughout his career, including several FBI Citations for Special Achievement, the FBI Medal of Excellence for Exceptional Performance of Duties and the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award. Additionally, he has been recognized by the SEC for exceptional individual performance and outstanding contribution.
“Close coordination between the crypto industry and relevant law enforcement agencies to identify and punish bad actors is required to increase trust and enable the crypto ecosystem to continue to grow. Binance.US is already a leader in working with law enforcement to establish a secure digital asset marketplace, and I look forward to using my experience to take those partnerships to the next level,” said Kang.
Under the leadership of CEO and President, Brian Shroder, over the last year, Binance.US has significantly bolstered its legal, compliance and risk operations, increasing department headcount by 145% - with more than 20% of the company’s workforce dedicated to these functions - which includes key c-suite hires in Tammy Weinrib as Chief Compliance Officer and Sidney Majalya as Chief Risk Officer. Additionally, Binance.US co-launched Chainabuse - a first of its kind community-powered scam reporting platform. Binance.US also partners with TRUST - a global, industry-driven solution designed to comply with a requirement known as the Travel Rule while protecting the security and privacy of customers.
Welcome to the team, BJ!