Binance could face legal risks after facilitating Russians to move crypto worth $428 million via P2P platform

• Binance exchange reportedly faces additional legal risks in the US for helping Russians send money overseas.
• According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the exchange violated US sanctions against Russia by helping its citizens move money.
• The exchange has defended itself, saying it “follows global sanctions rules and has no banking relationships anywhere for its peer-to-peer service.”
• Meanwhile, Russian President Putin says the US dollar is losing its global role in an “objective and irreversible” process.

Constrained relationships between the United States and Russia over geopolitical reasons have reportedly put the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Binance, in a possible legal bind. Based on a report in the Wall Street Journal, the exchange helped Russians move money, thereby violating the law.

Also Read: Breaking: Balancer V2 pools suffer critical vulnerability, and users asked to withdraw affected LPs immediately.

Binance reportedly in a legal bind for dealing with Russians

Binance exchange helped Russians move approximately $428 million, even monthly, by using its peer-to-peer (P2P) function. In doing so, the exchange may have violated the sanctions that the US has against Russia, intended to weaken the country’s economy with hopes of impeding Russia’s military enforcement against Ukraine.

However, Binance has denied the claims, articulating its adherence to “global sanctions rules.” More specifically, the exchange has denied having any banking associations anywhere for its P2P service. Nevertheless, the claim comes as the exchange battles US regulators, with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Earlier in the year, Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao were accused of breaking financial laws in the US. According to the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC), the exchange promoted its US business despite needing to register correctly with authorities. Further, the commission claimed Binance broke several financial laws in the US, including laws established to prevent money laundering.

Like in the current case relating to Russia, Binance had also denied the CFTC’s claims, saying, “It had made significant investments to ensure that US users were not active on the platform, including blocking users identified as American citizens or residents, or who had a US mobile number.”

If it were not for the strained relationship between the US and Russia, exchanging millions of dollars for Russians would not be an issue. The constrained ties go as high as the presidency, with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the forefront of BRICS in the de-dollarisation campaign.

BNB price bears the brunt

Meanwhile, Binance Coin (BNB) price continues to withstand the worst FUD around the Binance ecosystem. At the time of writing, the altcoin is exchanging hands for $208.78. Chatter speculates that a slump below the $200.00 mark could spell doom for the Binance ecosystem.

BNB/USDT 1-day chart

Also Read: Binance Coin kickstarts its 35% crash, liquidating BNB bridge hacker’s position on Venus Protocol

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