Update. Binance wrote in a blog post that Reuters' article "completely contradicts the reputation this outlet has built over the years and is not representative of our experience working with countless other journalists in their organization." The exchange added that suggestions that Binance shared any user data, including Alexei Navalny, with Russian FSB controlled agencies and Russian regulators "are categorically false."
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance might be collecting and sharing clients information with Russian government as the exchange is trying to safe its monopoly in the Russian market, Reuters has learned, citing over 10 people familiar with Binance's operations in the country.
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According to the report, Binance's Head of Eastern Europe and Russia, Gleb Kostarev, agreed to work with Russia's financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring (Rosfin). However, he noted the business associate that he didn't have "much of a choice" in the matter. As part of the "collaboration," Russia's regulators have been trying to identify "millions of dollars in bitcoin" raised by jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
After Russia's top banker Elvira Nabiullina proposed a ban on crypto in Russia, Kostarev told the business associate in a message that the exchange was "in a war" with the central bank. All other Russian regulatory bodies, however, were in favor of legalizing cryptocurrencies, he added.
A spokesperson for Binance told Reuters that before the war the exchange was "actively seeking compliance in Russia," which would have required it to respond to "appropriate requests from regulators and law enforcement agencies." Kostarev himself wrote in a post on Facebook it is an "absolute lie that I or Binance leaked the data of Navalny or users Rosfin or the FSB."
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