Reuters reviewed law-enforcement documents showing the exchange transmitted Yuri Belenkiy’s transaction history and identity records to Russia’s Investigative Committee; he is now awaiting trial for “terrorism financing”
Binance provided Russian authorities with a user’s transaction history and personal data, which were subsequently used as evidence in a criminal case for terrorism financing. Reuters reports this in an investigation based on law-enforcement documents.
The case concerns Yuri Belenkiy, an IT specialist detained in September 2025 and currently awaiting trial in Russia. The Russian Investigative Committee accuses him of sending over $700 in cryptocurrency between January 2023 and March 2024 to the Ukrainian military and to an organisation banned in Russia, identified by Reuters as the group known at different times as the Azov Brigade and the Azov Regiment.
According to the documents, Russian authorities requested Belenkiy’s transaction history from Binance. The exchange provided information linking him to the transfers, along with his date of birth, address, phone number and passport number. The response also included copies of the user’s Russian passport and Bulgarian residence permit.
A Binance spokesperson stated that the company cooperates with law-enforcement requests worldwide in compliance with applicable legal, privacy and regulatory requirements, declining to comment on specific confidential requests or individual cases. Binance had sold its Russian operations to CommEX in September 2023, announcing its withdrawal from the local market.
