Binance reportedly disputed the truth of a story claiming that one of its regional leaders promised to hand over client data to Russia’s financial intelligence agency in exchange for payments to anti-corruption and anti-Putin campaigner Alexei Navalny.

In particular, Gleb Kostarev, Binance’s head of Eastern Europe and Russia, met with officials from Rosfinmonitoring, a financial monitoring service associated with Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, in April 2021, according to Reuters. Kostarev consented to the government’s request to hand up specific user data, including names and addresses, later informing a colleague that he didn’t have “much of a choice” in the issue.

Users giving Bitcoin (BTC) to Navalny, who is presently imprisoned in Russia after being found guilty of contempt of court and embezzlement in March, might have been targeted by Rosfinmonitoring.

Navalny has explicitly attacked Russian President Vladimir Putin for corruption and claimed the head of state of being involved for his poisoning in August 2020, according to several human rights organizations, including Amnesty International.

Binance, on the other hand, implied that the study presented a “false narrative” that offered “just enough balance to attempt to avoid a legal action.” It was “categorically incorrect” that the company shared user data with “Russian FSB controlled agencies and Russian authorities,” according to the company.

The email exchanges between Reuters and its spokespersons, which formed part of the report’s investigation, were made public by Binance. The corporation also stated that it will file a formal complaint with the news organization, accusing it of “hype” or sensationalist reporting.

Many Twitter users appeared to be skeptical of Binance’s response to the article prior to that announcement. At least one individual claimed that Russia’s movements toward implementing pro-crypto rules were linked to reports of the country’s attempts to acquire access to user data, such as allowing citizens to use crypto to track transactions.

Michael Bond, a lawyer and Canadian national tweeted: “Russia likes crypto when US dollars are limited but hates it when it is used to fund political opposition.”

Binance announced restrictions for Russian nationals and residents in compliance with European Union sanctions, according to the article. Binance’s spot, futures, and custody wallets, as well as staked and earned deposits, would be unavailable to the impacted accounts.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao previously stated that the crypto exchange will abide by US and EU sanctions against Russian businesses and people, but would not “unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts.” The CEO had not publicly replied to the allegations as of the time of publishing.