A 2nd Western District Military Court in Russia convicted IT specialist Yuri Belenkiy on charges related to financing activities designated as terrorism, resulting in a sentence consisting of three years imprisonment followed by 10 years in a strict-regime penal colony, along with a fine of 500,000 roubles. Prosecutors had sought 14 years. Belenkiy, a former IT director at DiHouse and holder of a Bulgarian residence permit, was taken into custody in September when traveling to Moscow.
According to court records and statements from Russian news outlets, Belenkiy made approximately 15 cryptocurrency transfers totaling more than 120,000 roubles between August 2022 and March 2024. These transfers were directed toward funding Ukrainian armed forces and the Azov battalion, which the Russian government classifies as a terrorist organization. The defendant used payment details publicly posted by Arkady Babchenko, a journalist critical of the Russian government who is in exile.
Documents reviewed by Reuters indicate that Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, provided investigators with Belenkiy’s transaction history in response to a Russian government request. Legal experts note this data proved instrumental in the prosecution. However, the defence contested the authenticity of the records, arguing that Binance had ceased cooperation with Russian authorities since 2022. A lawyer at First Department, an organization providing legal assistance in politically motivated cases, characterized the Binance data as a key element of the prosecution.
Binance exited the Russian market in 2023 following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and subsequent international sanctions. When contacted, the exchange declined to comment on specific cases or confidential law enforcement requests, stating it does not determine how governments use information provided. Legal analysts specializing in cryptocurrency regulation noted that European Union data protection laws may have actually prohibited Binance from releasing the data given Belenkiy’s Bulgarian residency status.
First Department reported that roughly 10 percent of charges filed under Russia’s treason and espionage statutes in 2025 involved donations to Ukrainian organizations, with authorities continuing to prosecute cases stemming from donations made since 2022.
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