Binance Provided Russian Authorities With Customer Data Despite Claiming Exit

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange at the time, announced in 2023 that it was fully exiting Russia following the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions imposed on Moscow.

However, a recent Reuters investigation found that Binance voluntarily provided Russian authorities with customer data in 2025, which was later used as evidence in a case against Yuri Belenkiy, an IT specialist with a Russian passport and a Bulgarian residence permit.

Belenkiy was accused of sending more than $700 to the Ukrainian military and an affiliated unit known as Azov, which Russia designates as a terrorist organization.