Binance has brought in fresh leadership for its Asia-Pacific operations as the exchange looks to strengthen oversight and rebuild relationships with regulators in one of its most important markets.
A New Leader for APAC
On September 1, Binance announced the appointment of SB Seker as its new Head of APAC. Seker will oversee regional strategy, compliance, and regulatory engagement while driving business development across the region.
Seker comes with more than two decades of experience in global law and compliance. Before joining Binance, he served as Senior Vice President at Crypto.com, where he led product development, regulatory negotiations, and legal strategy across APAC and MENASA. His career also includes senior compliance roles at financial firms, a stint as a litigation lawyer in Australia, and time at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as a central banking lawyer.
Binance CEO Welcomes the Appointment
Binance CEO Richard Teng described APAC as a critical region for the company’s global strategy, noting that Seker’s extensive experience in its diverse markets makes him “uniquely positioned” to lead the next phase of growth and regulatory engagement.
In his own statement, Seker said he is eager to help shape a more compliant future for digital assets in the region. “By working closely with regulators, partners, and our community, I look forward to driving strategic initiatives and ensuring strong, reliable operations throughout APAC,” he added.
The Regulatory Backdrop
The appointment comes at a sensitive time for Binance, which has been under heavy scrutiny in Asia-Pacific. In late August, Australia’s financial watchdog AUSTRAC ordered Binance’s local arm to undergo a comprehensive audit after raising concerns about weak anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) controls.
The regulator criticized Binance’s earlier independent reviews as being too narrow and highlighted issues such as compliance staff turnover, inadequate resources, and weak senior oversight all flagged as unacceptable for a firm of its scale and risk profile.
Binance Australia was given 28 days to propose a panel of external auditors for AUSTRAC to approve. The audit will closely examine Binance’s systems, policies, and controls, with findings reported directly to the regulator.
Why It Matters
While Binance has yet to release an update on the audit process, the hiring of SB Seker sends a clear signal: the exchange is serious about tightening compliance and rebuilding regulatory trust in APAC. With a seasoned compliance professional now leading the charge, Binance hopes to demonstrate to regulators that it is ready to meet higher standards and operate responsibly across the region.
