Binance accused of handing user data over to Russia

Binance reportedly handed over the personal data of Yuri Belenkiy to Russian authorities as well as his transaction history. This 49-year-old IT specialist had sent more than 700 dollars in crypto to fundraisers supporting Ukraine. He was arrested in September 2025 in Russia. He is now awaiting trial for financing terrorism.

Binance had already left Russia

Binance had announced its exit from the Russian market in September 2023. The exchange had sold its local operations to CommEX. Yuri Belenkiy was however still using a Binance account. Russian investigators requested information about several transactions made from this account. The response attributed to Binance contained his transaction history.

It also contained his personal data. Date of birth, phone number, address, and passport number appeared in the file. The authorities reportedly also received a copy of his Russian passport. His Bulgarian residence permit also appeared.

Belenkiy had sent over 700 dollars in crypto between January 2023 and March 2024. The funds went to addresses shared by Arkady Babchenko, a Russian journalist living outside the country and supportive of Ukraine. Investigators tracked these transfers. In September 2025, Belenkiy was arrested.

Crypto transactions enter the case

The Russian Investigative Committee announced prosecutions the following month. Belenkiy is accused of financing terrorism. Russian authorities consider that part of the money sent was meant to support groups fighting alongside Ukraine.

The transfers made from Binance are part of the case’s evidence. Investigators reportedly also asked the exchange for information about other users who sent funds to one of the addresses published by Babchenko.

It is unknown if Binance handed over those identities. Belenkiy remains currently detained awaiting trial. Meanwhile, Binance continues to enforce sanctions imposed on certain Russian platforms and companies. The exchange had recently tightened its restrictions on several crypto services linked to Russia.

This does not prevent the platform from responding to requests from Russian law enforcement when they go through its official procedures. This is what is said to have happened in this case.

Binance invokes its legal obligations

Binance claims to cooperate with law enforcement in countries where it receives requests compliant with applicable rules. The exchange also makes it clear that it does not decide the prosecutions later initiated against concerned users.

The Belenkiy case has an additional detail. He held a Bulgarian residence permit. If he had registered his Binance account as a European Union resident, the transfer of his data to Russia could raise questions under GDPR.

The declared residence on his account is not known. It is therefore impossible to go further on this point for now. However, the file gives a good idea of the information kept after identity verification. Binance’s KYC can notably associate an account with a real identity and official documents.