US Department of Justice Investigates Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance for Alleged Violation of Russia Sanctions

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is reportedly under investigation by the U.S. government for allegedly violating financial sanctions against Russia.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 22nd (local time), citing sources, that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Binance on these allegations.

According to WSJ, after the Ukraine war, large amounts of ruble deposits in Russian bank accounts subject to sanctions were converted into cryptocurrency through Binance.

The U.S. government interpreted the conversion of deposits from sanctioned Russian banks into cryptocurrency as a violation of international sanctions.

Additionally, Binance reportedly did not prevent transactions where members exchanged rubles for cryptocurrency. The U.S. government considers peer-to-peer transactions converting rubles into cryptocurrency as a method to evade financial sanctions against Russia.

According to the Central Bank of Russia, from October last year to March this year, an average of $428 million (approximately 573 billion KRW) worth of rubles was converted into cryptocurrency through peer-to-peer transactions each month.

While peer-to-peer transactions do not involve direct intervention by cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance, these platforms facilitate smooth transactions and collect fees.

Besides allegations of violating financial sanctions against Russia, Binance has also been targeted by the U.S. government for money laundering and violations of securities laws.

Earlier, in June, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Binance and CEO Zhao Changpeng, accusing them of deceiving customers by inflating cryptocurrency trading volumes to appear much higher than actual.

Binance stated, "We comply with international financial sanctions against individuals, groups, and countries, and individuals or groups on the sanctions list cannot trade on Binance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.