Russia's Putin Sanctions Ex-FBI Agent And Binance.US Head Of Investigations

In what many considered a retaliation to the latest sanctions imposed by the United States on Russian officials and entities, Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced a list of 500 individuals with financial and travel restrictions in the country, which included some perceived political nemesis of former President Donald Trump and former FBI agent and Binance.US head of investigations BJ Kang.

Known as "the most dangerous man on Wall Street," Kang's inclusion could significantly impact Binance.US' ability to conduct business in regions with close ties to Russia.

With a couple of decades of experience with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kang was involved in a wide range of high-profile investigations, including the arrest of the notorious Ponzi scheme operator Bernie Madoff. His experience in financial crimes and involvement in these investigations made him one of the most sought-after experts in the finance industry.

Kang joined Binance.US in 2019 where is currently working as the head of investigations, helping the exchange to fight financial crimes while ensuring that it maintains regulatory compliance.

With Kang on the helm, the Binance's U.S. arm introduced multiple risk management and compliance programs to ensure that the platform could easily prevent and weed out illicit activities.

Kang also previously served as supervisory special agent in the FBI's Counterterrorism Division in New York, the bureau's legal attaché in Beijing and assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office as well as the bureau's Sacramento office.

With BRICS now pushing for de-dollarization and Russia continuing to pummel Ukraine in its ongoing "special military operation," financial institutions like Binance could get caught in the crossfire.

Kang's inclusion in Putin's sanctions list is not yet clear and Binance has yet to issue an official statement related to the issue.

A few weeks earlier, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) started its investigation into Binance after several reports pointed out that the world's largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume may have become instrumental in how some Russians were able to evade sanctions.

With the DOJ's investigation still ongoing, Kang's inclusion in Putin's sanctions list could have a major impact on how the case would move forward.

Aside from Kang, Putin's sanctions list also had names of the perceived political nemesis of Trump. The list included New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.