Binance denies Russia sanctions violation reported by WSJ

Binance Holdings Ltd., the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, on Wednesday denied that it continues to help a significant amount of Russian funds move abroad through crypto transactions — despite a conflicting claim by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

Fast facts

• The WSJ report claimed that Binance still handles “substantial” Russian ruble trading volumes, helping clients transfer funds from sanctioned banks into balances on the platform via intermediaries. It cited data pulled from Binance websites, user screenshots and messages in official chat groups to back up the claim.
• The report said the platform facilitates peer-to-peer trades of Russian rubles to cryptocurrencies that involve banks blacklisted in the U.S, including Rosbank and Tinkoff Bank.
• A Binance spokesperson, speaking on Wednesday via the social media messaging app Telegram, denied the claim.
• “Access to buying and selling USD & EUR on the Binance P2P platform for Russian citizens, as well as any individuals residing in Russia, regardless of nationality, is prohibited,” they said. “We have no relationship with any banks whatsoever, in Russia or elsewhere, in relation to our P2P program.”
• In May, the U.S. Justice Department began an investigation into Binance for allowing Russian users to circumvent sanctions to access the platform. It has yet to make charges or announce the results of the investigation.

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Danny Park

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Will Fee

Will Fee is an editor and Asia correspondent based in central Tokyo. He holds a Master of Philosophy in Japanese Studies from Oxford University, where he specialized in postwar politics, culture and society. He previously covered domestic politics for The Japan Times and is interested in exploring the political implications of a regulatory pivot toward crypto and Web3 in East Asia.

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