Justice Department to probe Binance over alleged ties to Russia: Report
Jenny Goldsberry
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Cryptocurrency company Binance is undergoing an investigation from the Department of Justice over possible transactions in Russia.
The investigation, reported by Bloomberg, cited five sources close to the situation. Its scope includes Russian transactions that may have skirted U.S. sanctions that came about amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There is also a possibility, per the report, that Binance did not facilitate the transactions, but an employee assisted Russia in avoiding sanctions.
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“In 2021, Binance launched an initiative to completely overhaul its corporate governance structure, including bringing in a world-class bench of seasoned executives to fundamentally change how Binance operates globally,” Binance said in a statement to the outlet. “Our policy imposes a zero-tolerance approach to double registrations, anonymous identities, and obscure sources of money.”
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The FBI completed “very significant seizures” of Russian cryptocurrency in March 2022 after the country “overestimated” its ability to circumvent sanctions, according to FBI Director Christopher Wray at the time.
Binance did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.