Is Russia circumventing sanctions via Binance?

According to the Wall Street Journal, Binance helps Russian citizens transfer money abroad. The crypto exchange is participating in global sanctions. However, Binance continues to process significant trading volumes in rubles.

Customers can convert balances at sanctioned banks into balances at Binance through various intermediaries, according to the newspaper. In addition, Binance allows peer-to-peer trading of rubles in digital tokens. This usually involves sanctioned banks, as evidenced by company websites, screenshots of users and messages in official chat groups.

Binance denied: According to a company spokesman, "they have no relationship with banks in Russia" and do not work with partners in the traditional financial system that are on sanctions lists.

In April, Binance lifted restrictions on citizens and residents from Russia. After Russia began the war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU and the U.S. imposed sanctions on the country and its citizens. In connection with this, most Russian banks were cut off from the international payment network SWIFT. Last spring, the EU expanded sanctions by banning crypto companies from operating in Russia.