Binance handed user data to Russia that led to a Ukrainian donor's arrest
1 hr ago
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Summary
- Binance allegedly shared customer data with Russia, enabling charges against an IT specialist for donating to Ukrainian groups.
- Yuri Belenkiy was detained in 2025 after Binance provided his personal details, including passport info and address, to Russian investigators.
- Binance says it cooperates with lawful requests, despite exiting the Russian market in 2023 to improve its compliance strategy.
Binance gave Russian authorities customer records later used to charge a Russian IT specialist with financing terrorism over donations to Ukrainian groups, according to a report by Reuters on Monday.
The exchange identified Yuri Belenkiy as the source of transfers worth more than $700, Reuters reported, citing law enforcement documents. Binance also allegedly provided his date of birth, address, phone number and passport number, alongside copies of his Russian passport and Bulgarian residency permit.
Russian authorities detained Belenkiy in September 2025 and he remains in jail awaiting trial.
Russia’s Investigative Committee alleged that Belenkiy made the payments between January 2023 and March 2024 after an appeal by exiled Kremlin critic Arkady Babchenko. The funds were intended for the Ukrainian military and a group associated with the Azov Brigade, which Moscow classifies as a terrorist organization.
Investigators reportedly received two responses from case@binanceholdings.ru after requesting Belenkiy’s transaction history. Binance’s website had directed Russian and Belarusian law enforcement agencies to that address.
Binance’s current law-enforcement guidelines say the exchange requires a valid court order, police order or warrant before providing user information in a criminal investigation.
The disclosure came after Binance sold its Russian business to CommEX in September 2023, saying operating in the country did not fit its compliance strategy. Binance said at the time that it would retain no revenue-sharing arrangement or option to repurchase the business.
Binance said that it cooperates with lawful law enforcement requests subject to applicable legal, privacy and regulatory requirements, according to Reuters’ report. It declined to discuss Belenkiy’s case or whether the disclosure may have breached European data protection rules.
CoinDesk has reached out to Binance but hasn’t heard back at the time of writing.
The documents were obtained by The First Department, an organization that supports defendants in Russian political cases, from one of Belenkiy’s relatives.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
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