Binance Refuted Allegations Of Sharing Data With Russian Intelligence

Binance refuted allegations of sharing data with the Russian intelligence since the latter was trying to track BTC sent to opposition leader Alexei Navalny so let’s read more today in our latest Binance news today.

Binance refuted the allegations that they provided data to the Russian intelligence back in April 2021. according to the Reuters report, the Russian agency tasked with tackling money laundering sought to trace millions of dollars n BTC raised by jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny who ran for president in 2018 and was later poisoned with all signs pointing to Russia’s Federal Security Service. Binance said:

“Suggestions that Binance shared any user data, including Alexei Navalny, with Russian FSB controlled agencies and Russian regulators are categorically false. Prior to the war, Binance’s engagement in Russia was no different from that of any other international organization—from banks to burger restaurants.”

Binance said it was lobbying the Russian government to develop a regulatory framework for crypto which is not that much dissimilar to the efforts undertaken by the industry in the US. It also defended the need for regulated exchanges to work with governments:

“Today, any government or law enforcement agency in the world can request user data from Binance as long as it is accompanied by the proper legal authority. Russia is no different.”

It stressed that it doesn’t rubber stamps requests and reserves the right to reject law enforcement requests if they don’t stand up to scrutiny. The Reuters investigation painted a different picture and suggested that the exchange was looking for businesses from Russian users as other financial companies have. Reuters reports show that Binance’s regional head in Eastern Europe Gleb Kostarev agreed to share client data with Rosfin and shared with a busienss associate that he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Kostarev wrote:

 “It is an absolute lie that I or Binance leaked the data of Navalny or users [to] Rosfin or the FSB.”

Navalny is one of the most prominent Russian opposition leaders and raised 658 BTC between December 2016 and February 2021 now worth $26 million. The donations surged after he was poisoned and jailed while BTC and other cryptos are still major funding channels for activists in Russia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine made the country an enemy number one across the world and Western sanctions put in place over the past two months hobbled the economy in the country and put the value of the ruble on a wild ride.