Binance Helps Track $4.2M in Crypto Donations to Russia
- Binance joins concerned authorities in tracking $4.2 million in crypto donations to Russia.
- Chainalysis found Telegram posts from Rusich, Rybar, and Southfront.
- The investigator said the funds were used to pay for thermal imaging viewers and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Binance’s research team joins forces with other authorities to track down nearly $4.2 million in crypto donations made to Russian militias in Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian war.
The Binance research team and cryptocurrency tracking firms helped track contributions to the Russian war effort, which often began with open posts on the Telegram messaging app requesting crowdfunding money.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao retweeted:
In a quote from “Mr. Hillmann” @binance’s security team of over 150 fmr security experts and investigators from the FBI, US Secret Service, IRS and Europol are fighting around the world to keep illicit funds out of # Crypto @cz_binanceThat’s why we use #Binance https://t. co/A2WCaQDLON
— CryptoBala (@cryptoBala01) October 9, 2022
Blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis uncovered Telegram posts from groups including paramilitary group Rusich and pro-Russian media sites Rybar and Southfront, all of which posted cryptocurrency contribution addresses on Telegram.
The analysis included several findings from cryptocurrency tracking companies such as Chainalysis, Elliptic, and TRM Labs, including Binance researchers. Additionally, the Binance research team found that $4.2 million in cryptocurrency had been transferred to Russian military organizations since February 2022.
There may be a chance that the overall funding is much higher than the Binance or Chainalysis figure. It is speculated that some of the organizations mentioned vary from those listed in the Chainalysis report.
Former Ukrainian Cyber Police Deputy Serhii Kropyva reacted to this by adding:
With the close cooperation of companies like Chainalysis and Binance, we can see all the wallets involved in this criminal activity, this money is flowing in the millions of dollars. But we can unfortunately see that the transfer continues all the time.
Binance mentioned MOO Veche, a pro-Russian “cultural heritage” organization that has organized fundraisers for weapons that look like the ones the organizations buy, Chainalysis mentioned.
Additionally, Elliptic tracked $1.7 million in crypto donations to the group, significantly more than the other researchers, despite Binance, TRM Labs, and Elliptic all listing MOO Veche as a major fundraiser.
Chainalysis researcher Andrew Fierman concluded the speculation by stating that it is not like Russia buying new tanks with donations. Instead, the funds were used to pay for thermal imaging viewers and unmanned aerial vehicles.
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