Binance Gave Russian Investigators Client Data Later Used in Terrorism Financing Case, Documents Show
The Facts
- Binance provided Russian investigators with account data on IT specialist Yuri Belenkiy, law enforcement documents reported by Reuters show.
- Russia's Investigative Committee used the Binance data as evidence in bringing terrorism financing charges against Belenkiy.
- The material Binance supplied included transaction history, passport copies, date of birth, address and phone number.
- Investigators allege Belenkiy sent more than $700 in cryptocurrency between January 2023 and March 2024.
- Russian authorities say the funds went to the Ukrainian military and the Azov unit, which Moscow designates a terrorist organization.
- Belenkiy had lived in Bulgaria since 2015 and holds a Bulgarian residency permit alongside a Russian passport.
- Belenkiy was detained at Sheremetyevo Airport in September 2025 and remains in pretrial detention awaiting trial.
- Binance said in 2023 that it had fully exited the Russian market.
- Rights activists say several dozen people have been prosecuted in Russia over similar donations; the exact number is not established.
Context
Where did the documents come from, and have they been verified?
Reuters said the law enforcement documents were provided by a non-governmental organization that offers legal support to people prosecuted in Russia on political cases, and that the agency could not independently confirm their authenticity Forbes.ru. The Russian human rights project Department One ("Pervy Otdel") separately reported that the Investigative Committee obtained a detailed report on Belenkiy's Binance account Meduza,ФОКУС,Deutsche Welle.
Why is Binance's cooperation in this case being scrutinized?
Companies routinely comply with lawful requests from law enforcement in countries where they operate, but Binance stated in 2023 that it had fully exited Russia Yahoo! Finance,РБК-Украина,CoinDesk. Reuters reported that, having quit Russia, Binance was under no obligation to provide the data and may have had an obligation not to ThePrint. One report says the Russian request arrived through a dedicated company email address used for contact with Russian agencies ТСН.ua.
What has Binance said about the case?
Binance declined to comment on the specifics, saying it does not comment on individual confidential law enforcement requests or particular cases Finance.ua. The company said it does not write or enforce any jurisdiction's laws, does not determine charges, and does not decide how a government uses information in legal proceedings, adding that it cooperates with lawful information requests worldwide Finance.ua,CoinDesk.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
Left and right largely agree on this one.
- Where Left and Right agree
- Both read Binance as owing the explanation: it handed Moscow passport, address and transaction data that became terrorism-financing evidence over $700, after claiming full exit from Russia.
- Where Left and Right differ in emphasis
- Both put the burden on Binance; one because compliance machinery can be turned against dissent and needs legal safeguards, the other because custody of a customer's file carries an inherent duty to protect him.
How left and right read it
The people most exposed to a repressive state are ordinary individuals with no power to resist it, which is why a company's routine compliance can quietly become an instrument of prosecution. Handing over transaction history, passport copies, a date of birth, an address and a phone number gave Russia's Investigative Committee the evidence for terrorism financing charges over transfers of more than $700. A firm that said it had fully exited that market owes the burden of proof here, and governments should build real safeguards so cross-border data requests cannot be turned against dissent.
A customer's passport copy, address, phone number and full transaction history are the keys to his freedom, so an exchange that holds them owes its users a presumption of protection before it hands them to anyone. Binance said it had fully exited that market, yet the account data it supplied became the evidence in a terrorism financing case built over more than $700 in transfers. The burden belongs on the party turning over the file, not on the man now sitting in pretrial detention.
The receipts — all 80 sources
Wire services (3)
Independent coverage (50)
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