Binance Data Used Against Russian IT Specialist Charged with Terrorism Financing

Binance's data led to a Russia terror charge against a Russian IT specialist named Yuriy Belenkiy, according to law enforcement documents reviewed by Reuters. The exchange handed over his full account history in October 2025, after Russian investigators requested it as part of an investigation into crypto donations sent to Ukraine.

Belenkiy was detained at Sheremetyevo Airport in September 2025 on an administrative charge before being reclassified and charged with terrorism financing the following month. The prosecutors allege he sent 15 transfers totaling 1,680.69 USDT, worth about 140,000 rubles, to a wallet address published by exiled journalist Arkady Babchenko for fundraising.

Binance has maintained that it does not hand over user data without a court order, but this disclosure shows the exchange complying with a standard law enforcement email request months earlier. The case raises questions about how far Binance's pledge to apply European Union sanctions against Russia reaches in practice and what this means for crypto donors who have sent funds to Ukraine-linked fundraisers through major exchanges.