Binance Accused of Handing Over Client Details to Russian Authorities

Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has been accused of handing over client details to Russian authorities. The information was used to charge a Russian IT specialist with terrorism financing charges.

The specialist, Yuri Belenkiy, had made cryptocurrency donations to Ukrainian fundraising campaigns. Binance had previously stated that it had fully exited Russia in 2023 due to incompatibility with its compliance strategy.

Law enforcement documents show that Russian officials requested Belenkiy's transaction history from Binance, and the company responded by sending details of his crypto transfers to the Ukrainian organizations.

Bystrov, a lawyer specializing in crypto regulation, questioned whether Binance had broken European Union data protection laws by handing over client information without a court order.