Binance Accused of Handing Over Customer Data to Russian Authorities

Crypto exchange Binance has been accused of handing over transaction details of one of its customers to Russian authorities, despite claiming to have withdrawn its operations from Russia in 2023.

The customer, Yuri Belenkiy, an IT specialist with Bulgarian residency and a Russian passport, was allegedly accused by Russia's Investigative Committee of terrorist financing after sending over $700 worth of funds to Ukraine's military via Binance between January 2023 and March 2024.

Belenkiy had made the payments in response to an online appeal from Arkady Babchenko, a Ukraine-supporting advocate exiled from Russia. The Investigative Committee also pushed Binance to reveal who else had sent funds to the advocate, but it's unclear whether Binance complied.

According to Reuters, Binance gave up Belenkiy's transfer history to Russian authorities, despite not being required to do so and possibly breaking EU data laws in doing so. Legal expert Mike Bystrov, who has previously represented Binance when Russia tried banning the site in 2021, stated that Binance wasn't obligated to give Russia the data.