Bitcoin exchange Binance published correspondence with Reuters journalists and denied accusations of collaborating with the FSB and Rosfinmonitoring.

In April, Binance Director of Communications Patrick Hillmann revealed that, in response to a request from the agency, Russian authorities had never contacted the trading platform about opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

In its response to the published article, the Bitcoin exchange made false claims that the company shared any user data with Russian regulators and agencies controlled by the FSB.

According to Hillmann, Binance has not entered into any agreements with the Russian government that would differ from cooperation with officials of other jurisdictions.

In the same correspondence, he revealed that the bitcoin exchange had received an invitation to its working group with Rosfinmonitoring but declined to participate. Hillmann stated that Binance has no ties to the agency.

Before the material was released, he threatened to make details of the investigation public if the agency “decided to ignore the facts.”

“Unfortunately, Reuters, one of the most respected and trusted media outlets, published this article, which completely contradicts the reputation this publication has gained over the years and does not reflect our experience with the countless other journalists at their organisations,” Binance said. an explanation..

Bitcoin exchange will write a formal complaint to the agency in accordance with their editorial code.

According to Reuters, Binance’s regional representation has agreed to share information about customers in the Russian Federation with Rosfinmonitoring and the FSB in exchange for assistance with doing business in the state.

According to the agency, in April 2021, Gleb Kostarev, the regional manager of the bitcoin exchange, who at that time was a director in Eastern Europe, held a meeting with representatives of Rosfinmonitoring.

He allegedly agreed to share customer data and create a local unit in Russia where authorities could request access to that information.

“It is an absolute lie that I or Binance leaked Navalny’s or its users’ data to Rosfin or the FSB,” Kostarev wrote on Facebook.

Recall that this is not the agency’s first investigation into Binance. In January 2022, Reuters journalists noted that the company repeatedly withheld information from regulators, neglecting procedures. KYC and acted contrary to the recommendations of its compliance department.