Binance shuts down accounts related to the families of key Kremlin officials to comply with new sanctions, Bloomberg reports
Following the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia, the daughter of the Kremlin spokesman attempted to utilize Binance and was denied access.
Binance Complies with New Sanctions
A number of new restrictions are being implemented by the Binance “cryptocurrency” exchange.
These measures aim to prevent the Russian government from using Bitcoin to mitigate the impact of sanctions.
Elizaveta Peskova, the daughter of President Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, and Polina Kovaleva, the stepdaughter of Russian Foreign Minister were among those shut down.
Additionally, Binance stated that it has barred Kirill Malofeyev, the son of Russian tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev, who was accused with breaching US sanctions.
“Proud to be a part of this team that makes a real difference,” Chagri Poyraz, Binance’s recently hired global head of sanctions, said.
On March 3, according to Poyraz, Binance stopped Peskova from using the exchange.
On March 11, she was sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department as part of a broader set of penalties.
These penalties target, “Kremlin elites, leaders, oligarchs and family for enabling Putin’s war against Ukraine.”
Poyraz says Binance monitors its platform for additional persons who may be affiliates with sanctioned individuals.
“What’s different is that our compliance screen operations are ‘proactive,’ aiming to detect and deter financial crime risk before any regulatory or legal action towards these individuals or entities,” he said.
On April 21, Binance implemented a series of limitations for Russian nationals and residents.
Binance CEO CZ Speaks On the Matter
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao states that the cryptocurrency exchange will abide by sanctions, but that it will not “unilaterally block millions of innocent consumers’ accounts” as a result of Western sanctions against Russia.
