The headline may be false, but it accurately reflects the article.

The outlet’s sources said Microsoft security researchers detected that large amounts of data were being exfiltrated through OpenAI developer accounts in late 2024, which the company believes are affiliated with DeepSeek. OpenAI told the Financial Times that it found evidence linking DeepSeek to the use of distillation (...)

In fact, it is exactly the point of the article that more access was used than is provided in the API. Distillation is not possible with API access.