Binance is currently being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice’s national security division for allegedly permitting Russian individuals to use their cryptocurrency exchange, which violates U.S. sanctions. This investigation occurs in parallel with a criminal division investigation, but no accusations have been made against the company or its executives.
Binance is also under investigation by the DOJ for possible Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations and has been accused of KYC and AML violations in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission.
Binance limited its services to Russia after the country was sanctioned in April 2022 but continued to operate there and blocked only certain areas of Ukraine that were no longer under government control, while servicing only non-sanctioned individuals. Binance has stated that it is compliant with U.S. and international sanctions and that its KYC protocols are in line with traditional banking. The company has a zero-tolerance policy for double registration, anonymous identities, and obscure sources of money.
Binance is not the only cryptocurrency exchange to face scrutiny for violating sanctions; Poloniex paid a $7.6 million settlement to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control for violating sanctions against Cuba, Crimea, Iran, Sudan, and Syria.
