Belenkiy Jailed 13 Years for Ukraine Crypto Donations — SkimNews
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- Yuri Belenkiy, 49, was convicted of financing "terrorism" by the 2nd Western District Military Court and sentenced Monday to three years in prison followed by 10 years in a strict-regime penal colony; prosecutors sought 14 years, and he was fined 500,000 roubles ($6,300).
- Yuri Belenkiy made 15 cryptocurrency transfers worth more than 120,000 roubles ($1,500) between August 2022 and March 2024 to fund Ukraine’s armed forces and the Azov battalion, according to RIA Novosti; Russia designates the battalion a terrorist organization.
- Binance gave investigators Belenkiy’s transaction history in response to a Russian request, according to law-enforcement documents seen by Reuters; the records were instrumental in the prosecution.
- Binance said it does not make or enforce laws, determine charges, or decide how governments use information in legal proceedings, and it does not comment on confidential law-enforcement requests or individual cases; it pulled out of the Russian market in 2023 after the full-scale invasion and sanctions.
- Yuri Belenkiy denied the charges, and his defense questioned whether the transaction data really came from Binance, noting the exchange had not cooperated with Russia since 2022; the defense will appeal the verdict.
- Mike Bystrov, a lawyer specializing in crypto regulation, said Binance had no obligation to provide Belenkiy’s data, but Belenkiy’s Bulgarian residency may have obliged the exchange under EU data-protection law not to do so.
- First Department reported that about 10% of all charges brought under Russia’s treason and espionage laws in 2025 were linked to donations to Ukrainian organizations, with authorities tracking cryptocurrency transfers and bank payments and continuing cases over donations made as early as 2022.
Why it matters: Belenkiy loses 13 years over 15 transfers totaling more than 120,000 roubles, while the transaction records attributed to Binance are central to his prosecution. His Bulgarian residence permit is also the basis for a crypto-law specialist’s view that EU data-protection rules may have required Binance not to share them.
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