CZ Denies He Owns CommEX, Binance Russia's New Owner

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao on Thursday denied that he is the owner of CommEX, the mysterious company that has bought Binance’s business in Russia.

Binance, of which CZ is founder and chief executive officer, this week announced it was quitting Russia after reports of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into sanctions violations.

That led to questions around the identity of CommEX – a company with similar user look and feel to Binance, and which appears to just be a few days old.

“I am not their UBO [ultimate beneficial owner], nor do I own any shares there,” CZ said of CommEx in a post on X, formerly Twitter, adding that a few former Binance staff from the region have gone to work for CommEX, or may do so in future.

Some answers about Binance/CommEx.

There will be crypto transfers between Binance & CommEx as users migrate with their funds. There are also older transactions during the testing phase of the integrations. This is expected.

A few ex-Binance CIS team members may join their team,…

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) September 28, 2023

Historic transactions between the two companies related to the “testing phase” of integration, and Binance had asked for CommEX to have a similar design and technical features to smooth the transition, CZ added.

In its Wednesday press release, Binance confirmed it had no revenue split or option to buy back shares from the new company, and that it was “fully” exiting Russia with a transition period of a few months.

Read more: Binance Sells Russian Unit to Day-Old CommEX, Exits Country