Binance handed Russian investigators transaction data last year that helped authorities bring terrorism financing charges against a Russian IT specialist over crypto donations to Ukrainian military causes. The exchange says it fully exited Russia in 2023, but a crypto regulation lawyer says Binance may have had no obligation, and possibly an obligation not, to provide the data.
Russian authorities used client data supplied by Binance to charge an IT specialist with financing terrorism after he sent crypto donations to Ukrainian military causes, according to law enforcement documents seen by Reuters. The documents show Russia's Investigative Committee alleged that Yuri Belenkiy, detained in September 2025, sent more than $700 to the Ukrainian military and a group known as the Azov Brigade, which Moscow designates as a terrorist organization.
Binance has said since 2023 that it fully exited the Russian market, with no ongoing revenue sharing. Yet the exchange was under no obligation to provide the data and may have had an obligation not to, said Mike Bystrov, founder of law firm Stellar Consulting, who advises on crypto regulation.
Binance defends handing over the data
Binance disputed that characterization. A company spokesperson said in an emailed statement that Binance does not make or enforce the laws of any jurisdiction, determine charges, or decide how any government uses information in legal proceedings, adding that it cooperates with lawful information requests from law enforcement globally, subject to applicable legal, privacy and regulatory requirements.
According to Reuters: "Binance does not comment on specific confidential law enforcement requests or individual cases." The exchange declined to discuss the specifics of Belenkiy's case.
A possible EU privacy conflict
Bystrov said that if Belenkiy was registered with Binance as an EU resident, which he may have been given his Bulgarian residency permit, he would fall under the bloc's General Data Protection Regulation. That would bar Binance from disclosing his details without a court order and compliance with stringent provisions, Bystrov said. He also noted that Russia is not viewed as a country with an adequate level of data protection under GDPR, making the transfer legally delicate.
Binance did not comment on whether handing over the data would breach GDPR rules, and Reuters could not establish whether Belenkiy was registered with Binance as an EU customer. The documents show Russian officials received two replies from an email address, [email protected], that Binance's website advises Russian and Belarusian law enforcement agencies to use. The replies included confirmation that Belenkiy initiated the transfer, along with his date of birth, address, phone number, passport number, and copies of his Russian passport and Bulgarian residency permit.
Echoes of the Navalny case
Reuters previously reported that Binance's regional boss met officials from Russia's financial monitoring agency in 2021 who wanted help identifying customers who made bitcoin donations to opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic penal colony in 2024. At the time, Binance said it had never been contacted by Russian authorities regarding Navalny.
Dmitry Zair-Bek, head of The First Department, the NGO that obtained the Belenkiy documents, told Reuters that a crypto-giant handing over such data to detectives engaged in political repression would be beyond an EU resident's worst nightmares. Belenkiy, who holds a Russian passport, is now in a Russian jail awaiting trial.
Source: Investing.com/Reuters
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