Binance Blocks Cryptocurrency Transactions Involving People Close To Vladimir Putin

Binance continues to limit crypto activity, Vladimir White's closest people. (photo; twitter @TheBigBossPutin)

JAKARTA - Crypto currency exchange Binance adopted more measures to prevent the Russian government from mitigating the impact of sanctions through the use of cryptocurrencies.

According to a Bloomberg report on Thursday, April 28, Binance has closed several accounts linked to relatives of senior Kremlin officials over the past two months since Russia began military action in Ukraine.

According to the report, those affected include Elizaveta Peskova, daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, and Polina Kovaleva, stepdaughter of Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov. Binance said it had also blocked Kirill Malofeyev, son of Konstantin Malofeyev, a Russian oligarch who was previously charged with violating US sanctions.

“Proud to be part of this team that is making a real difference,” said Binance's newly appointed head of global sanctions, Chagri Poyraz. I posted the statement on his LinkedIn page about Binance's recent actions.

Poyraz said that Binance blocked Peskova on March 3, when she tried to use the exchange through a third-party intermediary. He was subsequently sanctioned by the United States Treasury on March 11 as part of sanctions against "Kremlin elites, leaders, oligarchs, and families for enabling Putin's war against Ukraine."

Elizaveta Peskova, suspended by Binance. (photo: Instagram liza_peskova)

Peskova later expressed her anger about Western sanctions, declaring such actions "totally unfair and baseless."

"I'm really shocked because it's weird to introduce sanctions on someone who is 24 years old and has nothing to do with the situation," he said. Peskova's last Instagram post from March 12 reads one word: "Peace."

According to Poyraz, Binance is continuously monitoring its platform for more people associated with sanctioned individuals who may be using its services.

"What's different is that our compliance screen operations are 'proactive', aiming to detect and prevent financial crime risks before any regulatory or legal action against these individuals or entities," Poyrza was quoted as saying by Cointelegraph.

On April 21, Binance adopted a series of restrictions for Russian citizens or residents of Russia. They limit trading to accounts that have more than 10,000 euros (Rp 156.8 million). Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao previously said that Binance would comply with the sanctions but would not "unilaterally freeze millions of innocent user accounts" due to Western sanctions against Russia.

As well as reinforcing Binance's desire to comply with sanctions, recent reports also suggest that family members of major Russian officials are deeply attached to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. This is despite the Bank of Russia's hostility towards Bitcoin and reluctance to welcome crypto investments in the country.

It should also be noted that some Russian officials, as well as their spouses and children, are prohibited from investing in cryptocurrencies at all, in accordance with Russia's own laws.