Two Binance employees were briefly detained in the UAE as police launch an investigation into suspected financial crimes involving the platform.

According to The New York Times, two Binance employees were recently intercepted by authorities at airports in the United Arab Emirates and briefly detained, but have since been released. One mid-level employee was taken to a police station and held overnight after transiting through Sharjah earlier this month, while an executive at Binance’s Dubai subsidiary was questioned by police in July. According to insiders, the actions stem from a local police investigation into suspected financial crimes involving the Binance platform. The UAE is home to Binance’s primary regulatory authority, and this incident underscores the mounting legal pressure the company faces in the region. Binance has long been scrutinized by law enforcement agencies in multiple countries for struggling to prevent criminals from exploiting its platform.