Advertisement
The founder of The KUNA cryptocurrency exchange in Ukraine, Michael Chobanian confirmed that Binance is working with the Russian government despite global sanctions, and this has been going on for some time.
Chobanian said ceo Changpeng Zhao should clearly define its position with Russia after its attack on Ukraine in late February 2022.
"The problem with Binance is that not only do they continue to work with both sides, but as far as I know, they also cooperated with the Russian government before the war and they are still cooperating with the Russian government," Chobanian said.
In February 2022, Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said that it had no intention of unilaterally banning Russian users from the platform, but that the company would take action against those imposed by the sanctions.
Jessica Jung, a spokeswoman for Binance, said, "We don't want to comment on false allegations. Our focus is on helping people." She also cited from a press release the $10 million donation and the launch of a crowdfunding website called the Ukrainian Emergency Relief Fund.
Chobanian offered no evidence that Binance is operating with the Russian government, but Russia has long been an important market for Binance.
In 2019, Zhao called Russia "our main market," and "we are always looking for cooperation in every community, especially Russia." In a recent interview, Zhao said that financial sanctions are not a "cryptocurrency-specific issue," and that blocking all Russians from cryptocurrency exchanges is "unethical."
On the other hand, Russian authorities have given mixed signals about cryptocurrencies, while the central bank supports the ban, the government proposes regulating it.
Chobanian, who is also president of the Blockchain Association in Ukraine, appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on Thursday during a hearing on "The Role of Digital Assets in Illicit Finance." During the hearing, he accused Binance of failing to act decisively against the Russian government.
"The first thing the cryptocurrency community does is stop all ruble activity because it's a big hole in the sanctions list. But unfortunately, not every cryptocurrency company follows us, especially Binance," he said during the hearing. He also added that cryptocurrencies could be a useful lifeline for Russians who do not support the war and are trying to leave the country.
"Perhaps the only way for them to live outside of Russia right now is cryptocurrencies. Of course it's impossible to buy a house or a car, but at least they can survive," he said.
Chobanian also said that Binance has not yet fulfilled the $10 million in donations it promised in a statement in February 2022. Binance says it will send money to intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in Ukraine for humanitarian relief.
"They said they had donated $10 million to the Ukrainian government. I haven't seen that $10 million yet. No one knows where they went," he said.
In an article, Binance specifically cited ngos it has supported. According to the transaction details on their website, Binance has so far backed $2.5 million and BNB 401,566.
