Binance still serves Russians as they seek clarity on EU crypto sanctions
In the weeks following new EU sanctions, Binance has kept its doors open to non-sanctioned Russian nationals, but that doesn’t mean the firm isn’t complying with EU sanctions, according to Binance’s newly appointed head of sanctions.
Western sanctions against Russia have been a major challenge for Binance from day one, and the firm has been working hard to comply, Binance’s Global Sanctions Manager Chagri Poyraz told Cointelegraph in an interview.
Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Binance has extensively blocked several non-government-controlled territories in Ukraine, including annexed regions such as Donetsk and Luhansk, Poyraz said.
“There is still an active war going on in the region,” he noted, adding that Binance continues to actively monitor the situation. Binance has more than 500 Compliance Managers globally, and approximately half of them are directly involved in sanctions control, including Anti-Money Laundering, name control and other procedures.
In addition to comprehensive sanctions, which are imposed in connection with a specific country or a specific region, there are also targeted sanctions or those aimed at specific persons, companies or activities. Binance has “zero tolerance” for accounts blocked with targeted sanctions, and has frozen or limited a number of Russian accounts in line with sanctions from various jurisdictions, Poyraz said.
US authorities have introduced a range of targeted sanctions, providing lists of sanctioned individuals and firms, wallets and related guidance, the executive noted. However, just like the cryptocurrency industry as a whole, cryptosanctions are a new concept and there is still a lack of guidance and clarity, especially when it comes to different jurisdictions.
“The hardest part is the EU sanctions,” Poyraz said, highlighting the industry’s need for better clarity around those sanctions. Binance has reached “no particular dialogue” with EU regulators after the union adopted an eighth sanctions package, which included some major crypto restrictions, he noted, adding:
“We obviously follow all the EU sanctions, but there is room for improvement when it comes to clarity. […] We try to follow the sanctions as they are. The challenge is not to overdo it, to do what you’ve been told. The regulations must be clear.”
The executive stressed that the current uncertainty surrounding EU sanctions against Russia is not only Binance’s problem, but is an “industry problem”.
The EU’s initial sanctions only limited Russia-EU crypto payments to around $10,000, but the latest restrictions, introduced in early October, tightened the bans further, banning “all crypto-asset wallets, accounts or custody services, regardless of the size of the wallet.”
The European Commission (EC) did not provide any further details about the crypto sanctions on its official Q&A page. EC’s press team did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
Related: Russian users are welcomed by crypto exchanges in Kazakhstan, but there is a catch
While Binance continues to support services for Russians, a number of crypto exchanges and wallets have left Russia shortly after the EU imposed the eighth and final package of sanctions.
Platforms such as Crypto.com, LocalBitcoins and Blockchain.com notified their users to stop services in Russia from mid-October. On October 19, Kraken became one of the latest exchanges to restrict accounts to Russian users, citing compliance with EU sanctions.
As previously reported, Russia is one of Binance’s biggest markets, ranking in the top ten for the crypto exchange in October 2019.
