- Wall Street Journal accuses Binance of helping Russian users move money.
- Binance spokesperson denied allegations and stated the exchange maintains no relations with Russian banks.
- BNB dropped to $204, the lowest in a year after the news was published.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) claimed that the leading crypto exchange Binance is helping Russians “move money.” According to the report, Binance still handles transactions for a minimum of five Russian financial institutions that have been sanctioned by Western countries. Binance was already in the limelight since July due to accusations of supporting money laundering in Russia.
Back in February, the exchange announced that it was banning peer-to-peer transactions involving U.S. dollars and euros for Russian traders in compliance with the 10th round of EU sanctions on Russia. However, WSJ argued that Russian users continue to engage in peer-to-peer trading on Binance via five Russian financial institutions, including Tinkoff Bank and Rosbank, for completing payment transactions.
Moreover, volunteers associated with Binance, known as Binance Angels, have been communicating on Telegram, informing users that the exchange does not impose any trading limitations on its Russian clientele.
Last year in April, Binance declared restrictive measures against Russian users as per the EU’s fifth package. Under the new rules, Binance was obligated to restrict its services for individuals who are Russian nationals residing in Russia or legal entities established in Russia if they possess crypto assets worth more than 10,000 EUR. Binance was also required to collect customers’ proof-of-address verification.
However, on April 18, local Russian media outlet RBC reported that Binance had removed the €10,000 limitation. RBC’s report outlined that the technical support team confirmed that Russian users were now permitted to deposit amounts exceeding €10,000 on the platform and utilize these funds for trading purposes.
In response to WSJ’s allegation, a Binance spokesperson stated,
We have no relationship with any banks whatsoever, in Russia or elsewhere, in relation to our P2P program. Binance follows the global sanctions rules and enforces sanctions on people, organizations, entities, and countries that have been blacklisted by the international community, denying such actors access to the Binance platform.
As a result of WSJ’s explosive article, Binance’s native token, BNB, dropped to its lowest value since 2022’s crypto crash, dropping to $204 on Tuesday evening.
Nevertheless, the coin has started to recover and is trading at $215, at the time of writing, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
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