Binance Hands Over Client Details to Russia Amid Data Protection Concerns

The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, handed over client details to Russian authorities last year, which were used as evidence in charging a Russian IT specialist with terrorism financing. The IT specialist, Yuri Belenkiy, was detained in September 2025 for sending over $700 to Ukrainian organizations that Moscow designates as terrorist groups. According to documents seen by Reuters, Binance provided the details of Belenkiy's transactions via email to Russian law enforcement officials.

Bystrov, a crypto regulation lawyer, said that if Belenkiy was registered with Binance as an EU resident, he would be covered by the bloc's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which prohibits companies from disclosing personal data without a court order. However, it is unclear whether Belenkiy was registered with Binance as an EU customer.

Binance has stated that they do not comment on specific confidential law enforcement requests or individual cases, but a spokesperson said the company cooperates with lawful information requests from law enforcement globally, subject to applicable legal, privacy and regulatory requirements. The Kremlin and Russia's Investigative Committee did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.