Crypto exchange Binance exits Russia amid US investigations on breach of Ukraine sanctions

The world’s largest exchange says it is selling its Russia business to the newly launched CommEx

Binance is being investigated by the US Justice Department to determine if it was used illegally to let Russians skirt sanctions and move money

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Binance says it is selling its Russia business, months after reports suggested US authorities were investigating possible sanctions violations. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:15pm, 28 Sep 2023

Binance said it exited its Russia business by selling it to CommEX, a cryptocurrency exchange that says it officially launched on Tuesday.

“As we look toward the future, we recognise that operating in Russia is not compatible with Binance’s compliance strategy,” Noah Perlman, Binance’s chief compliance officer, wrote in a blog post on the company’s website published Wednesday. The company did not provide financial terms.

The world’s largest exchange is being investigated by the US Justice Department to determine if it was used illegally to let Russians skirt sanctions and move money. The inquiry includes looking at whether Binance or company officials ran afoul of sanctions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Two executives in charge of the Russia business this month said they left Binance, adding to a raft of senior departures.

Binance and its founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, have been the subject of intense regulatory scrutiny over the past year, with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filing lawsuits against both. The exchange says it has more than 150 million registered users globally, although its market share has shrunk since the CFTC sued Binance in March.

Zhao Changpeng, CEO of Binance Holdings, speaks virtually during the Token2049 conference in Singapore earlier this month. Photo: Bloomberg

Payments in cryptocurrency as well as digital-asset exchanges are prohibited on Russian territory. However, Russian citizens and companies are free to use offshore cryptocurrency platforms as a settlement instrument for transferring funds abroad and receiving funds from abroad.

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