Binace’s largest cryptocurrency exchange has taken further measures to curtail the Russian government and Russian oligarchs’ attempts to circumvent Western sanctions imposed on the Kremlin after Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In the past two months, approximately since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Binance has been to close several accounts that were linked to people close to senior Kremlin officials. Bloomberg reported.
According to media reports, it was supposed to be Elizaveta Peskova, the daughter of Russian President’s spokesman Vladimir Putin, and Polina Kovaleva, the stepdaughter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov.
Binance also announced that it had blocked the account of Kirill Malofeyev, the son of Konstantin Malofeyev, who is a well-known Russian oligarch and has already been accused of violating US sanctions.
Crypto-exchange Binance has closed the accounts of relatives of high-ranking Russian officials
https://t.co/S4EViGFRNB– The Insider (@InsiderEng) April 29, 2022
Chagri Poyraz, who is the global head of the sanctions division, Binance, said Peskov’s daughter’s account was blocked on March 3, shortly after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, when Peskov tried to use the stock market through a third-party brokerage company. Subsequently, 8 days later, it was included in the US sanctions list, which targets the Kremlin elites, leaders, oligarchs and their families.
Peskovová also complained about this step in the media when she stated: “I was really surprised because it’s weird to impose sanctions on someone who is only 24 years old and has nothing to do with the situation.” Subsequently, on March 12, when she last appeared on Instagram, she wrote only one word: “Peace.”
Binance, meanwhile, says it continues to closely monitor developments on the platform and seeks to identify people who could be linked to US or European Union sanctions lists. The Exchange states that it acts very proactively in this matter and beyond what is required of it by regulatory authorities or through legal measures.
At the same time, the largest crypto exchange on April 21 adopted a number of restrictions for customers from Russia – they mainly concern accounts with a balance exceeding the Fiat value of 10,000 euros.
