Binance Denies Transferring User Data to Russian Financial Intelligence Agency

Crypto exchange Binance categorically denies the message that it has agreed to transfer user data to agencies controlled by the Russian FSB.

Yesterday, Binance released a rebuttal to the Reuters report, saying it had agreed to share user information with a Russian financial intelligence agency called Rosfin, which collects and analyzes data, and added that it would file a formal complaint with Reuters, citing the media company’s own editorial.

The crypto exchange’s post notes that “a recent Reuters article attempts to portray – falsely – that Binance has close ties to FSB-controlled agencies and Russian regulators.”

A Reuters report, citing the text messages, says:

“Reports have shown that Gleb Kostarev, head of Binance for Eastern Europe and Russia, has granted Rosfin’s request to agree to the exchange of customer data.”

According to the report, at the time, in April 2021, Rosfin was trying to trace millions of dollars in bitcoin raised by imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Yesterday, a Binance spokesperson said that the company did not help the Russian state in its attempts to investigate Navalny.

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Binance’s rebuttal contained a number of points, including:

“Suggestions that Binance has shared any user data, including Alexei Navalny, with Russian FSB-controlled agencies and Russian regulators are flatly false.”

Binance went on to say that prior to the start of the military operation in Ukraine, its “participation in Russia was no different from the activities of any other international organization.”

The exchange added that after the start of the military operation, Binance stopped operations in Russia and “aggressively applied sanctions,” noting that it also donated more than $10 million in humanitarian aid to Ukrainians.

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