Reuters: Binance gave Russian authorities client data used in Ukraine-case charges

Reuters reviewed Russian law-enforcement documents indicating Binance supplied identity data in response to a 2025 request from investigators probing Yuri Belenkiy, a Russian IT specialist accused of sending more than $700 in crypto between January 2023 and March 2024 to organizations linked to Ukraine’s military, including the Azov Brigade or Azov Regiment, which Moscow designates as a terrorist organization. The data was included in an interim case outline circulated to Russia’s prosecutor-general’s office.

Binance’s Russia exit versus ongoing data cooperation

Binance announced a full exit from Russia on October 4, 2023, stating that operating in Russia conflicted with its compliance strategy and that assets would be sold to CommEX over roughly a year. Despite this, Reuters found evidence of an operational channel for Russian requests: a Binance webpage directed Russian and Belarusian authorities to case@binanceholdings.ru. Investigators reportedly received two replies containing Belenkiy’s date of birth, address, phone number, passport number, and copies of his Russian passport and Bulgarian residency permit.

The documents, sourced by The First Department, a Russian NGO assisting defendants in politically motivated cases, describe evidence gathered before charges were filed. Reuters could not independently verify the documents and attributed them to a relative of Belenkiy.

GDPR exposure: unresolved customer status

Crypto-regulation lawyer Mike Bystrov told Reuters that if Belenkiy was registered by Binance as an EU resident due to his Bulgarian residency, transferring his personal data to Russia could implicate the EU’s GDPR because Russia lacks an EU adequacy designation. Reuters could not determine Belenkiy’s customer classification. The European Data Protection Board declined comment, citing national enforcement competence, and Bulgaria’s data-protection authority did not respond.

Binance stated it cooperates with lawful requests globally subject to applicable legal, privacy, and regulatory requirements, and that governments decide how to use the information. Binance declined to address Belenkiy’s case specifically, citing confidentiality around individual requests.

Status of prosecutions

Belenkiy, 49, remains jailed in Russia awaiting trial. Reuters reported that several dozen Russians who made similar crypto donations have faced prosecution, without a verified count.