Malta-based digital asset exchange, Binance, has reportedly frozen accounts that received over 93,000 Ether (ETH) from two different crypto wallets. The accounts have been suspended because they are believed to be linked to the controversial World Exchange Services (WEX).
Crypto Accounts Frozen
Leah Li, the global PR manager at Binance, confirmed on October 25th that the accounts were under investigation as WEX users had informed Binance’s management team that they had been unable to make withdrawals from WEX.
The users of the troubled Russian exchange also told Binance that they had been closely monitoring the accounts – as they were keeping track of incoming and outgoing transactions.
According to the WEX users, two wallets linked to the Russian exchange had moved large amounts of ether to Binance (via 25 transactions during the months of August and October). The users are now concerned that they might not be able to get their money back, because it appears that their funds have been transferred to Binance.
User Funds “Unavailable”
As CryptoGlobe reported recently, there have now been at least 35 police reports filed against WEX exchange because many users have not been able to withdraw their funds from the crypto trading platform for over three months.
WEX users have also complained about the exchange’s management and its customer service department. As covered, a crypto trader had claimed in August that he deposited $11,000 in litecoin (LTC) on WEX, however, he was told by the exchange’s representatives that his funds were not “available.”
The crypto investor had also said he was “100% confident” that his funds were unrecoverable – implying that they had been stolen.
Hundreds Of Frustrated Users
Notably, complaints against WEX continue to increase as there are reportedly hundreds of frustrated users that have expressed concerns about the exchange’s operations in various Telegram chat groups.
According to Coindesk, there is a Telegram group with over 400 members that is focused on filing police reports against WEX. There’s also another chat group with over 1,000 active members who are trying to retrieve their funds from WEX.
An estimated 93,000 ETH (appr. $18 million) may be at risk – as these funds have been moved to Binance. There might also be more user funds that could potentially be stolen as WEX’s users have been unable to withdraw most of the crypto assets from the exchange.
Commenting on the situation, Binance PR representative, Leah Li said:
[We are] not familiar with the specific situation at WEX, [however], we always investigate user claims thoroughly and we will suspend account access if any unusual activity is detected. We are [also] encouraging users who may be impacted to file reports with local law enforcement and ask them to send us case numbers or official notices/letters of investigation. So far, we haven't been provided with any notices yet.
