Binance Blocks Russian User at Behest of Ukrainian Law Enforcement

The customer affected by the sudden closure goes by the username of Alexander M. on the platform. His Binance account was reportedly frozen on January 7. According to a report in local news publication RBC.ru, Alexander was informed that his account was frozen via email. It read:

“Your account is currently under the review of Ukrainian police in Ukraine. You may liaise with them for further information.”

It is not immediately clear what the Ukrainian police have to do with the cryptocurrency trader. Alexander is a Russian citizen and claims to have never done any business involving cryptocurrency outside of his home nation. However, he has been left unable to access his own holdings on the platform pending “know your customer” checks. Alexander believes that the sudden freezing of his account is related to his recent purchases of the stablecoin US Dollar Tether (USDT). He told the publication that he bought some USDT on December 23 from a contact. He paid cash for the cryptocurrency and the seller transferred the same value of USDT from his Binance account. After learning that his account had been frozen, Alexander contacted the seller again. He informed Alexander that his own Binance account had been locked for two weeks at that point. The exchange had reportedly given no explanation for this. Alexander then appealed to the platform’s customer support department. He was instructed to film himself holding his passport and a piece of paper requesting the account be unlocked. After fulfilling the requirements, he was then told that his account was under review and to expect an answer within 30 days. Speaking to the news publication, the head of Binance Russia, Gleb Kostarev, said that such locks at the request of authorities were indeed possible. He also asked reporters not to spread “FUD” in the market.