Police in the United Arab Emirates detained two Binance employees at airports and questioned a third as part of a fraud inquiry into funds moving through the exchange. According to reports, all three individuals have been released, and Binance has maintained that none of them were the targets or subjects of the investigation.
The incidents involved Emirati police pulling two employees aside at airports in recent weeks. A mid-level worker was held overnight at a Sharjah police station, while a second employee was stopped at a different Emirati airport around the same time. Additionally, a third Binance official who runs the company's Dubai subsidiary was questioned at a police station in July.
A Binance spokesperson stated that a small number of personnel were asked to provide standard statements for routine inquiries related to third-party fund flows. The spokesperson emphasized that the employees were promptly cleared and released.
Corporate Bank Accounts and Inquiries
Sources familiar with the matter indicated that Binance maintains a corporate bank account in the Emirates to handle customer deposits and withdrawals, with several employees named on the account. Police reportedly questioned staff members due to their association with this account, though the broader fraud inquiries are focused on customers rather than the exchange itself.
The detentions caused concern among Binance employees, prompting the company to ask the Emirati government for assistance this month and express worries regarding employee safety. Dubai authorities and the Emirati Ministry of Interior did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Regulatory and Legal Context
Centralized exchanges are subject to know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering rules, regularly receiving thousands of law enforcement inquiries annually regarding platform transactions. Binance's operational footprint in the United Arab Emirates has expanded alongside deepening financial ties. State-backed Emirati fund MGX invested $2 billion in the exchange in March 2025, marking Binance's first outside investment, and Abu Dhabi regulators subsequently authorized Binance's global platform under a three-part framework covering trading, clearing, and custody.
