Binance Is Being Investigated By The US Department Of Justice Regarding Russian Sanction Violations

Changpeng Zhao, founder and CEO of Binance, (photo: twitter @cz_binance)

JAKARTA - According to a report appearing in Bloomberg on May 5, Binance is being investigated by the US Department of Justice's national security division for allowing Russians to use the cryptocurrency exchange in violation of US sanctions. There are no charges against the company or its executives regarding this investigation.

According to Bloomberg, a national security investigation was carried out in conjunction with a criminal division investigation, citing five unnamed sources. Binance has been targeted by several investigations in the United States, including DOJ's investigation into Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations.

Binance restricted services to Russia after sanctions were imposed in April 2022. However, the exchange continues to operate there, only blocking Ukrainian territory no longer under government control and serving individuals who are not subject to sanctions, according to a company executive quoted by Cointelegraph.

Binance was also accused of violating Know Your Customer (KYC) and AML in a lawsuit filed by the US Commodity and Futures Trade Commission in March.

The company did not immediately respond to a response request from the media, but told Bloomberg in a statement that it had complied with US and international sanctions, and its KYC protocol was in line with traditional banking protocols. Each customer is subject to identity and residential checks, he said. In addition:

"Our policy applies a zero-tolerance approach to double registration, anonymous identity, and an obscure source of money," Binance said.

In addition, according to Bloomberg, Binance "has been in talks" with DOJ about complaints that it has violated previous versions of sanctions against Iran.

Binance is not the only crypto exchange facing sanctions breach checks. Poloniex paid a settlement of 7.6 million US dollars (Rp11.7 billion) to the US Treasury Department's Foreign Asset Control Office for violating sanctions against Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria, according to announcements on May 1.