Binance Shares Russian Donor Data, Sparking Scrutiny

Multiple Reuters- and other-sourced investigations reveal Binance’s continued data-sharing with Russian authorities after announcing a complete exit from the Russian market, raising concerns about user privacy and GDPR compliance. The cases center on Yuri Belenkiy, a Russian IT professional accused of financing Ukraine-connected groups, with Binance providing transaction histories, IDs, and passport details that were later used in Russia’s terrorism-financing case. Reports describe a long-standing arrangement dating back to 2021 between Binance and Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s financial intelligence unit, enabling authorities to trace donations and connect wallet activity to individuals. Public debate has intensified over whether transferring EU-resident data to Russia, in the context of a conflict and different human-rights standards, violates GDPR and exposes Binance to legal risk in the EU. Binance contends that it is fulfilling lawful requests and that it is not judging the legality of investigations, highlighting tensions between compliance, privacy, and enforcement across borders.