- Binance reportedly shared customer data with Russian authorities that was later used in a case against a Russian IT specialist accused of financing terrorism through donations to Ukrainian organizations, Reuters reported.
- Law enforcement documents cited by Reuters identified Yuri Belenkiy as the source of transfers worth more than $700. Binance allegedly supplied authorities with his birth date, address, phone number and passport details, along with copies of his Russian passport and Bulgarian residency permit.
- Russian authorities arrested Belenkiy in September 2025, and he remains in detention awaiting trial.
- Russia’s Investigative Committee claims Belenkiy sent the funds between January 2023 and March 2024 after an appeal from exiled Kremlin critic Arkady Babchenko. Investigators allege the money was intended for Ukraine’s military and a group connected to the Azov Brigade, which Russia classifies as a terrorist organization.
- Investigators reportedly received two responses from an email address linked to Binance after requesting Belenkiy’s transaction records. Binance’s website had previously instructed Russian and Belarusian authorities to submit law-enforcement requests through that address.
- Binance’s current policy says customer information can be disclosed during criminal investigations when authorities provide valid legal documentation, including a court order, police order or warrant.
- The reported data disclosure occurred after Binance left the Russian market in September 2023, selling its local operations to CommEX. At the time, Binance said continuing to operate in Russia no longer aligned with its compliance strategy and that it would not retain revenue-sharing rights or an option to repurchase the business.
- Binance told Reuters that it responds to legitimate law-enforcement requests while following applicable legal, privacy and regulatory requirements. The exchange declined to comment on Belenkiy’s case or address whether the disclosure could have breached European data-protection rules.
- CoinDesk contacted Binance for further comment but had not received a response when the report was published.
- The documents were reportedly obtained by The First Department, which supports defendants in Russian political cases, through a relative of Belenkiy.
Russia Used Binance User Information in Arrest of Ukrainian Donor
