Binance.US Head of Investigations Sanctioned by Vladimir Putin – Report

Russia has expanded its sanction list to incorporate the names of 500 more entities including BJ Kang, Binance U.S. Head of Investigation who was hired in October last year. The Vladimir Putin list contains the names of many Americans including that of the New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Former President of the country Barack Obama is also on the list in retaliation for the sanctions imposed by the United States amidst Russia’s crisis with Ukraine. This sanction from Russia indicates that all 500 named entities have travel and financial restrictions in the region. 

The Basis for the List Addition

About one month into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several entities began to impose strict sanctions on the former in a bid to force the country into considering peace. Initially, it was rumored that the leading cryptocurrency exchange was refusing to comply with sanctions on Russia from the U.S. 

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the exchange pointed out that Binance was also complying with the decision.

He further explained that Binance was working with a team to ensure that sanctioned individuals do not use the crypto exchange. However, a year ago, it was discovered that Binance, Seychelles-based exchange OKX, and Singapore-based Huobi were generating their highest traffic from Russia and therefore were likely to face enforcement action from U.S authorities. 

Two weeks ago, the Department of Justice began to investigate Binance again after it became glaring that Russians may have evaded sanctions through the exchange. Since that time, CZ has yet to issue a statement concerning the claim against Binance. The agency is yet to confirm how involved Binance is with Russia but with Kang now on Putin’s sanction list, it is not clear how this case would evolve.  

Russia Sanctions Trump’s Perceived Enemies

Interestingly, this Putin sanction list is said to contain the names of Americans who are largely regarded as enemies of Donald Trump, the 45th U.S. President. 

Letitia James, the State Attorney General of New York who has sued Trump for alleged fraud, Joe Scarborough, an American television host and renowned critic of Trump and Jack Smith, the Justice Department special counsel were all included in the sanction list.