Binance Disclosure Of EU Resident’s Data To Russian Law Enforcement Sparks GDPR Compliance Questions
Cryptocurrency trade Binance supplied Russian legislation enforcement with the non-public and transactional knowledge of a buyer in 2025, info that was subsequently used to deliver terrorism-financing costs in opposition to him. The buyer, Yuri Belenkiy, a 49-year-old Russian IT specialist with Bulgarian residency, is detained in Russia awaiting trial.
Investigators requested Belenkiy’s transaction historical past after figuring out crypto transfers linked to Ukrainian navy fundraising. The trade responded by supplying data confirming transfers to a pockets listed by Kremlin critic Arkady Babchenko, who had publicly solicited donations for medical tools for Ukrainian troopers. The shared materials included his date of delivery, tackle, phone quantity, passport quantity, and copies of each his Russian passport and Bulgarian residency allow. Russian authorities allege that between January 2023 and March 2024 he despatched greater than $700 to entities related to the Ukrainian navy, together with a gaggle Moscow designates as a terrorist group; these particulars had been later included as proof within the case define submitted to the Russian prosecutor-general.
The paperwork additional point out that investigators requested Binance to determine different people who had transferred funds to the identical pockets, although the result was not disclosed. The trade’s replies got here from an e-mail tackle that Binance’s web site had beforehand listed for Russian and Belarusian legislation enforcement inquiries.
Legal and Regulatory Questions
Binance introduced its full withdrawal from the Russian market in September 2023, stating that working there was incompatible with its compliance technique and that no revenue-sharing or buy-back preparations remained. In a press release, the trade mentioned it cooperates with lawful info requests from legislation enforcement globally in accordance with relevant authorized and regulatory necessities, and famous that it doesn’t decide how governments use such info.
The incident has nonetheless raised questions on Binance’s obligations below European knowledge safety legislation. Because Belenkiy holds Bulgarian residency, authorized consultants have advised he could also be lined by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which typically restricts transfers of private knowledge to jurisdictions with out sufficient protections and sometimes requires a courtroom order for disclosure. Binance disputed this view, whereas the European Data Protection Board and Bulgaria’s knowledge safety fee declined to remark or didn’t reply. The First Department, an NGO supporting individuals in politically motivated prosecutions in Russia, criticized the trade for sustaining communication with Russian legislation enforcement after its public exit.
The origin of the paperwork was not confirmed, nor was it established whether or not Belenkiy was registered with Binance as an EU resident.
The put up Binance Disclosure Of EU Resident’s Data To Russian Law Enforcement Sparks GDPR Compliance Questions appeared first on Metaverse Post.
