By Bitcoin.com - 2 tau ki muri - Wā Pānui: 3 meneti
Report Says Binance Shared Client Data With Russia, Crypto Exchange Denies Allegations
Whakawhiti moni Binance has been accused in a media report of agreeing to provide user data to Russia’s financial watchdog. The trading platform has refuted the allegations. It also insists it’s complying with Western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
Binance Consented to Russian Request for Customer Info, Reuters Claims in ‘Special Report’
Binance, the world’s leading digital asset exchange, has agreed to hand over customer data to Russia’s financial intelligence agency, a pūrongo by Reuters suggests. The article refers to messages allegedly sent by Binance’s regional head Gleb Kostarev to a business associate revealing that the Russian officials asked for such information, including names and addresses, during a meeting last April.
The Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation (Rosfinmonitoring) saw its request supposedly motivated by the need for help in the fight against crime. Quoting an anonymous source familiar with the matter, the authors note that at the time, the financial watchdog was trying to trace millions of dollars in bitcoin whakaarahia na te roopu a Alexei Navalny, rangatira o Rūhia i mauheretia.
Rosfinmonitoring labeled his network a terrorist organization a year ago. The Kremlin critic claimed the crypto donations were used to fund efforts to expose corruption inside President Putin’s administration. Supporters who sent money through Russian banks were interrogated, Navalny’s foundation says. After his arrest in January 2021, it encouraged backers to donate via Binance.
I mauheretia a Navalny i tana hokinga mai ki te Rōpū Rūhia, i muri i te oratanga mai i te paihana e whakahengia ana e te Tai Hauauru ki runga i te Federal Security Service (FSB) o Ruhia, he whakapae i whakakahoretia e nga mana whakahaere o Ruhia. Ma te whakawhirinaki ki nga korero mai i te maha o nga tangata kaore i mohiohia i mahi tahi me te kaiwhakahaere, ka tuhi a Reuters ko te umanga hei ringa mo te FSB. Ko te mana whakahaere, he roopu motuhake te kawenga mo te aukati i nga mahi whakaheke moni me nga putea kaiwhakatuma.
Kostarev, Binance’s representative for Eastern Europe and Russia, reportedly consented to Rosfinmonitoring’s request to agree to share client data, according to the said messages. He also told his business partner he didn’t have “much of a choice.” Binance commented for Reuters it had been “actively seeking compliance in Russia” before the war in Ukraine, which would have required it to respond to “appropriate requests from regulators and law enforcement agencies.”
Ko te Whakawhitinga Crypto Ka Whakakahore i nga Kereme he 'Here Te Whakataunga'
Quoting an industry research firm, the Reuters article further unveils that Binance’s trading volumes in Russia have spiked since the conflict began, as Russians sought to protect their assets from sanctions and a devaluing national fiat. Data from Cryptocompare indicated that in March Binance processed almost 80% of all ruble-to-crypto trades. On Thursday, the exchange kauwhautia, heoi, kei te whakawhäiti i nga ratonga mo nga kaipupuri putea a Ruhia ki te u ki nga whiu hou a te EU.
Refuting the allegations in the report, Binance described the cited market data as inaccurate, and while pointing out that it “aggressively implemented sanctions against Russia,” in answers to questions from Reuters, it reiterated its belief that “it would be unethical for a private organization to decide unilaterally to freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts.” In a tauākī i whakaputaina i te Paraire, ka kii te kamupene kua "kua mutu te mahi i Russia" i te wa i timata ai te pakanga.
While emphasizing that “fulfilling disclosure obligations to the authorities in each jurisdiction is a large part of becoming a regulated business,” the global crypto trading platform said that the suggestions it shared any user data, including related to Alexei Navalny, with agencies controlled by the FSB and Russian regulators are “categorically false.” Binance insisted it had not sought to assist the Russian state in its attempts to investigate the opposition leader.
What are your thoughts on the report alleging that Binance shared user data with Russia’s financial watchdog? Let us know in the comments section below.
Kuputuhi taketake: Bitcoin.com