US DOJ Starts Investigating Binance for Potential Infringement of Russian Sanctions

Bloomberg has recently published a report disclosing that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently engaged in an investigation focusing on Binance. As per the report, the probe into the top crypto exchange is to point out if the platform has been involved in flouting any sanctions by carrying out any criminal operations.

Binance Faces an Exclusive Investigation Started by the US DOJ

This time, the authorities intend to find out the agents from Russia who are utilizing the crypto exchange to evade the financial sanctions. The respective sanctions were implemented on Russia back in the year 2022. The cause of the sanctions’ imposition was the invasion of the country into its neighbor Ukraine. In the meantime, the country has been allegedly transacting funds through the well-known crypto exchange platform Binance.

The report refers to 5 individuals who are acquainted with the issue. The national security unit of the DOJ is responsible for leading the ongoing investigation. Up till now, the US authorities have been incapable of determining if the country utilized the company or if someone at the platform of Binance assisted Russia in the evasion of sanctions.

Keeping that in view, the agency is organizing a couple of investigations confronting the crypto exchange. The 2nd investigation is being led by the criminal division of the DOJ. In the previous year, it was reported that the criminal investigation confronting the world’s top crypto exchange platform could lead to several allegations.

The potential allegations to be raised against Binance and its well-known executives take into account the infringement of anti-money laundering provisions. At the moment, the firm is engaged in interaction with the US authorities and the DOJ for the resolution of the respective allegations. The purpose of these allegations is to inquire if the adversaries of the United States are utilizing Binance’s platform to dodge sanctions.

The report quotes a statement made by the firm concerning the aforementioned investigations as well as its compliance in the case of international law. Back in the year 2021, the crypto exchange started an initiative, as mentioned in the report. That endeavor was concentrated on fully renovating the firm’s structure related to corporate governance.

The respective structure includes the provision of an outstanding bench of veteran executives to essentially modify the worldwide operations of Binance. According to the report, the policy of the agency implements the zero-tolerance method in the case of obscure sources, anonymous identities, and double registrations.

Approximately the entirety of the prominent regulatory agencies in the United States has been paying considerable attention to Binance for analogous reasons. Nonetheless, the crypto exchange keeps on dismissing the allegations. In this respect, Changpeng Zhao (the chief executive officer of Binance) venerated the platform’s engagement in the inquiry.

Binance Attempts to Dismiss the Allegations

The respective investigation led to the arrest of perpetrators who were charged with public corruption, drug trafficking, and child abuse. A 6-part documentary was launched by Binance to display the platform’s cooperation with the worldwide authorities within diverse jurisdictions. Tigran Gambaryan, the head of Financial Crimes Compliance at Binance, also remarked on this matter.

Gambaryan stated that it is just the myth that the crypto assets are anonymous and permit illegal operations. In the words of Gambaryan, this misconception is contrary to reality. On the other hand, the executive added, the crypto transfers are publicly recorded. Hence, a comprehensive record of the previous activities is maintained.