A crypto transfer to a Ukraine-linked fundraiser. Inside Russia, that became a terrorism charge.
Binance handed Russian law enforcement transaction records and identity documents tied to Yuri Belenkiy, a Russian IT specialist. The materials fed directly into a terrorism-financing case. Belenkiy had donated to Ukrainian causes. Russian authorities detained him in September 2025. He remains in jail, awaiting trial.
The case rests on donations made between January 2023 and March 2024, following an appeal by exiled Kremlin critic Arkady Babchenko. Russia’s Investigative Committee alleged the funds were intended for the Ukrainian military and a group associated with the Azov Brigade, which Moscow classifies as a terrorist organization.
The disclosure chain is documented in case files. Russian investigators wrote to [email protected], an address Binance’s website had listed for Russian and Belarusian law enforcement. They received two responses. Both contained Belenkiy’s transaction history.
What Binance turned over was specific. The exchange identified Belenkiy as the source of transfers worth more than $700. It provided his date of birth, address, phone number and passport number. Plus copies of his Russian passport and Bulgarian residency permit. Reuters reported the details, citing law enforcement documents. Cointelegraph covered the story separately.
The documents were obtained by The First Department, an organization that supports defendants in Russian political cases, from one of Belenkiy’s relatives.
That handover took place against a backdrop Binance has publicly described as closed. The exchange sold its Russian business to CommEX in September 2023. At the time, Binance said operating in Russia no longer fit its compliance strategy. It would retain no revenue-sharing arrangement. No option to repurchase the business.
Whether the responses to Russian investigators were sent before or after that exit. The reporting does not say.
Binance’s current law-enforcement guidelines require a valid court order, police order or warrant before the exchange provides user information in a criminal investigation. No such order is confirmed in the reporting for the Belenkiy request.
A Binance spokesperson declined to comment on specific confidential law enforcement requests or individual cases. In a statement, the exchange said: “Binance does not make or enforce the laws of any jurisdiction, determine charges, or decide how any government uses information in legal proceedings. Like other global financial institutions, we cooperate with lawful information requests from law enforcement globally, subject to applicable legal, privacy and regulatory requirements.”
Reuters reported that Binance would not say whether the disclosure may have breached European data protection rules.
That last question is not academic. Belenkiy held a Bulgarian residency permit. Bulgaria is an EU member state. It is subject to the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation. The reporting does not establish which jurisdiction’s legal framework governed the handover.
CoinDesk said it reached out to Binance but had not received a response at the time of writing.
