Russia’s Sberbank links the crypto networks used by Moscow and Tehran to evade sanctions, Middle East Forum says

The 2nd Western District Military Court in Moscow has sentenced IT specialist Yuri Belenky to 13 years in prison for allegedly "financing terrorism." Belenky, 49, must serve the first three years in prison and the remaining time in a maximum-security penal colony, according to the court. He was also fined 500,000 rubles ($6,200) and ordered to forfeit an additional 126,000 rubles ($1,560).

The case was initiated after a cryptocurrency transfer to an account linked to journalist Arkady Babchenko, who was raising funds for the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU). Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, provided the court with a report on the transfers upon request from Russia's Investigative Committee. Belenky, who lived in Bulgaria since 2015 and held an EU residence permit, was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in September 2025 on charges of "petty hooliganism."

Shortly after, a criminal case was opened against him for allegedly assisting terrorist activity. He was charged with six transfers totaling 742.26 USDT (62,000 rubles, or $770) for AFU needs. The court obtained the transfer history from Babchenko's Telegram chat, where users reported their transactions. The Investigative Committee supplied Binance with a report containing detailed information about Belenky's account, including personal data, scans of documents, and a list of trusted devices.

This led to the discovery of nine additional transfers by Belenky to Babchenko's address, resulting in charges for 15 transfers totaling 1,680.69 USDT (135,000 rubles, or $1,680). Babchenko, a Russian journalist and critic of the Kremlin, has covered Russia's wars in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine. In 2020, he was added to Russia's list of terrorists and extremists, and designated as a "foreign agent" in 2023.