Binance Delists Sanctioned Russian Banks From Peer-to-Peer Service

Binance has cut ties with five sanctioned Russian banks that were listed on the exchange’s peer-to-peer service to let users transfer funds in rubles - the country’s native currency.

This is due to a regular update of its system to comply with local and global regulatory standards and sanctions rules, Binance said.

“When gaps are pointed out to us, we seek to address and remediate them as soon as possible. In line with our ongoing commitments, payment methods on the Binance P2P platform that do not fit with our compliance policies are not available on our platform," a Binance spokesperson told CoinDesk.

An earlier article by the Wall Street Journal, which reported the news first, pointed out how Binance was helping Russians move money abroad, which puts the exchange in a legally tricky position.

Binance has faced several legal challenges since the start of this year, including a suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the exchange based on allegations that it didn’t comply with federal securities laws.

Earlier this week, two of the largest credit institutions, MasterCard and Visa, ended their partnership with Binance.