Binance provided user data to Russia used in Ukraine donation terrorism case
Binance faces intense scrutiny after reports reveal it provided Russian authorities with the personal data and transaction history of Yuri Belenkiy, a Russian IT worker arrested in September 2025 for donating over $700 to Ukrainian groups. Although Binance announced a full exit from Russia in September 2023, Russian investigators successfully used its compliance email channel to obtain Belenkiy's passport details and address. Binance defends its actions as cooperation with lawful law enforcement requests.
Binance user data disclosure
▪Binance provided Russian authorities with transaction records and personal details of a user, which Russian investigators later used in a terrorism financing case.
▪Binance identified Russian IT worker Yuri Belenkiy as the source of cryptocurrency transfers worth more than $700 to Ukrainian fundraising groups.
▪The personal data Binance shared with Russian authorities included Yuri Belenkiy's date of birth, home address, phone number, passport details, Russian passport copy, and Bulgarian residency permit.
Yuri Belenkiy terrorism case
▪Yuri Belenkiy allegedly made cryptocurrency payments after an appeal by exiled Kremlin critic Arkady Babchenko, with funds intended for the Ukrainian military and the Azov Brigade.
▪Russian investigators alleged Yuri Belenkiy sent over $700 in cryptocurrency between January 2023 and March 2024 to Ukrainian groups, including one linked to the Azov Regiment.
▪Yuri Belenkiy, a 49-year-old Russian IT worker, was arrested in September 2025 and charged with terrorism financing over cryptocurrency donations to Ukrainian groups.
Binance Russia market exit
▪Despite announcing a full exit from Russia in September 2023, Binance's compliance channels remained accessible to Russian investigators seeking user transaction data.
▪Binance announced its full exit from the Russian market in September 2023, selling its Russian business to CommEX with no revenue-sharing or buyback options.
Law enforcement cooperation procedures
▪Binance reported processing more than 71,000 law enforcement requests in 2025 and helping global authorities seize over $752 million in illicit cryptocurrency.
▪Binance's law-enforcement guidelines state that the exchange requires a valid court order, police order, or warrant before providing user information in a criminal investigation.
▪Russian authorities contacted Binance through its compliance email address, case@binanceholdings.ru, and received two responses containing Yuri Belenkiy's transaction history.
▪Binance stated that the exchange cooperates with lawful information requests from global law enforcement subject to applicable legal, privacy, and regulatory requirements.
User privacy protection concerns
▪In Kenya, cryptocurrency traders launched a boycott campaign against Binance after their accounts were frozen for over two months following requests from local criminal investigators.
▪In 2021, Gleb Kostarev, then-head of Binance's Eastern Europe operations, agreed to share client information with Russia's Rosfinmonitoring regarding Alexei Navalny's cryptocurrency fundraising.
▪Dmitry Zair-Bek, head of the Russian legal group The First Department, questioned how users could expect data privacy after Binance announced its exit from Russia.
Sanctions compliance enforcement
▪U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal has pressured Binance and its executives over transactions running into billions of dollars linked to Iranian and Russian state entities.
▪Binance announced on August 14, 2026, that it would stop processing transactions with 16 cryptocurrency platforms, including several implicated in European Union sanctions.
▪Binance stated that its sanctions exposure fell by 96.8% between January 2024 and July 2025, and its compliance department employs nearly 1,500 people.
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