Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is facing a U.S. probe over suspected violations of sanctions against Russia, according to a media report. The inquiry is looking into whether the trading platform was used by Russians to circumvent financial restrictions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Crypto Exchange Binance Faces Another US Probe, Sources Say

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is trying to establish if Binance Holdings, the operator of the world’s largest crypto exchange, has been used to allow Russians to evade Western sanctions, Bloomberg revealed, quoting multiple sources familiar with the matter.

According to five people who chose to remain anonymous, the Department’s national security division is looking at whether the company or its officials have violated restrictions introduced in relation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as part of a confidential investigation.

“The probe, which hasn’t previously been reported, is moving on a parallel track with an existing inquiry by the criminal division, one of the people said,” the report detailed, noting that the move adds another layer of scrutiny of the troubled industry’s leading exchange.

The news comes after Russian crypto media reports in late April suggested that Binance has quietly lifted some restrictions on Russian users. According to the information published by different news outlets, Russians can again use their bank cards to make deposits and the trading platform has canceled a limit on their balances introduced in compliance with EU sanctions.

Binance has been in talks with the DOJ in an attempt to resolve complaints related to previous allegations that it was used to bypass sanctions against Iran before introducing stricter compliance controls, Bloomberg added, quoting another person familiar with these developments. In a statement, the company emphasized it complies fully with all U.S. and international sanctions, elaborating:

In 2021, Binance launched an initiative to completely overhaul its corporate governance structure, including bringing in a world-class bench of seasoned executives to fundamentally change how Binance operates globally.

It also pointed out that its know-your-customer protocols rival any in the traditional banking system and every Binance user is required to pass these procedures which include verifying country of residence and checking personal identification.

“Our policy imposes a zero-tolerance approach to double registrations, anonymous identities, and obscure sources of money,” the exchange stressed. The U.S. Justice Department has so far declined to comment.

Binance has been in the focus of other U.S. investigations, including a probe into its compliance with anti-money laundering requirements led by the Internal Revenue Service and a lawsuit filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The Securities and Exchange Commission has been examining if the platform supported the trading of unregistered securities.

What are your thoughts on the report about another investigation against Binance in the United States? Share them in the comments section below.

A prominent crypto analyst says that less-than-favorable news cannot stop the strong momentum of Bitcoin (BTC).

In a new video update, popular crypto trader Jason Pizzino tells his 284,000 YouTube subscribers that Bitcoin and the stock market appear to be shrugging off bad economic news.

According to Pizzino, Bitcoin has kept its head above waters despite the threat of a recession and banking collapses.

“For nearly two months, Bitcoin has been trading over $25,000. With all of the bad news that we have seen in the markets, nothing is swaying Bitcoin from hitting $30,000, $40,000, maybe even $50,000 this year…

Even the stock markets are putting aside bad news, bad fundamentals, looming recessions, sticky interest, banking collapses, and setting new price highs for the year.”

According to Pizzino, investors waiting to pick up the top crypto asset by market cap at a discounted price will likely not be able to do so. The analyst says that BTC surviving through numerous bearish signals earlier this year means it could soon find itself in the $32,000 to $42,000 range.

“If people are waiting for these lower prices, what the market is telling us is that it’s not going to go down there at this point, especially after the breakout of the double top.

When you have a very big macro bearish signal that fails at 50%, which it did here at $19,500, fails on huge bearish news, which was the banking collapse of Silicon Valley bank, and then Credit Suisse, and then Deutsche Bank and then every other bank that’s followed.

When that bearish signal fails, and it breaks above that, meaning that it failed, it’s most likely a signal to the upside, and a macro signal to the upside.

So what could happen from here? Maybe we top out here at $32,000, maybe $34,000, maybe $42,000, we’ll see.”

Bitcoin is trading for $29,110 at time of writing, a 2% drop during the last 24 hours.

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