Binance handed over user data to Russia 2 years after "exiting" the market.
Yuri Belenkiy got his full KYC — passport, address, phone, DOB, transaction history — delivered to Russian investigators. Charged with terrorism financing for ~$700 in crypto donations to Ukrainian groups. Detained Sept 2025, still locked up.
Binance sold its Russia ops to CommEX in Sept 2023. Full exit, right? Wrong. Data still got passed over in 2025.
Binance's line: "We comply with lawful law enforcement requests worldwide." No further comment.
What this means for you:
🔴 Your KYC doesn't disappear when an exchange "exits" a country
🔴 You don't get to choose which government asks for your data later
🔴 Custodial = your identity is permanently tied to every transaction
🔴 Self-custody isn't paranoia — it's counterparty risk management
If you're holding funds on CEXs in politically sensitive regions, understand the risk. Your data is a permanent liability.
Source: Reuters
Yuri Belenkiy got his full KYC — passport, address, phone, DOB, transaction history — delivered to Russian investigators. Charged with terrorism financing for ~$700 in crypto donations to Ukrainian groups. Detained Sept 2025, still locked up.
Binance sold its Russia ops to CommEX in Sept 2023. Full exit, right? Wrong. Data still got passed over in 2025.
Binance's line: "We comply with lawful law enforcement requests worldwide." No further comment.
What this means for you:
🔴 Your KYC doesn't disappear when an exchange "exits" a country
🔴 You don't get to choose which government asks for your data later
🔴 Custodial = your identity is permanently tied to every transaction
🔴 Self-custody isn't paranoia — it's counterparty risk management
If you're holding funds on CEXs in politically sensitive regions, understand the risk. Your data is a permanent liability.
Source: Reuters