US Justice Department investigating Binance for violating Russian sanctions: Report

Binance is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) National Security Division for allowing Russians to use cryptocurrency exchanges in violation of U.S. sanctions. Appeared There were no charges against the company or its executives in connection with the investigation.

The news service, citing five unnamed sources, said the national security investigation was being conducted in parallel with the criminal division investigation. Binance has been the subject of several investigations in the US, including a Department of Justice investigation into anti-money laundering violations.

Binance had restricted its services to Russia after sanctions were imposed on it in April 2022. Nonetheless, it continues to operate in Russia, blocking only areas of Ukraine that are no longer under government control and serving only unauthorized individuals, a company executive said. I’m here. coin telegraph.

The Justice Department is investigating whether Binance was used illegally to allow Russians to evade US sanctions and move money through the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. https://t.co/AVgG55iSmx

— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) May 5, 2023

Binance has also been accused of Know Your Customer/Anti-Money Laundering (KYC/AML) violations in a lawsuit filed in March by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

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The company did not immediately respond to inquiries from Cointelegraph, but said in a Bloomberg statement that it complies with US and international sanctions and its KYC protocol is consistent with that of traditional banks. All customers must undergo identity and residency verification, the company said. moreover:

“Our policy imposes a zero-tolerance approach to dual registration, anonymous identities and ambiguous funding sources.”

Additionally, Bloomberg reports that Binance is “in discussions” with the Department of Justice regarding complaints that it violated previous versions of sanctions against Iran.

Binance is not the only cryptocurrency exchange facing scrutiny for sanctions violations. Poloniex has paid the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control a $7.6 million settlement for allegedly violating sanctions against Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria, according to a May 1 announcement.

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