IT expert Yuri Blanki was sentenced to 13 years in prison in the case of donations to Ukraine The Second Western District Military Court sentenced IT expert Yuri Blanki, 49, to 13 years in prison on charges of terrorist financing. He must spend the first three years in prison, the remaining ten in a maximum security colony. The court also fined him 500,000 rubles and ordered the confiscation of 126,000 rubles. The reason for the persecution was cryptocurrency transfers to a wallet, the details of which were published by journalist Arkady Babchenko to raise funds for aid to Ukraine. According to the investigators, Blanki made 15 transfers totaling 1,680.69 USDT - about 135 thousand rubles. According to the First Class Human Rights Project, the investigation initially had data on six transfers. A further nine transactions were identified after crypto exchange Binance provided the investigative committee with Blanki's account history, personal data and transaction information. Blanki lived in Bulgaria since 2015, where he had a residence permit, and occasionally came to Russia. In September 2025, he was arrested at Sheremetyevo Airport on charges of petty hooliganism, and later a criminal case was opened for financing terrorism. Babchenko himself stated that he did not receive donations from Blanki and collected funds for medical aid to Ukrainian rescuers and paramedics. Human rights project "Support for political prisoners. Memory recognized Blanki as a political prisoner.

IT expert Yuri Blanki was sentenced to 13 years in prison in the case of donations to Ukraine The Second Western District Military Court sentenced IT expert Yuri Blanki, 49, to 13 years in prison on charges of terrorist financing. He must spend the first three years in prison, the remaining ten in a maximum security colony. The court also fined him 500,000 rubles and ordered the confiscation of 126,000 rubles. The reason for the persecution was cryptocurrency transfers to a wallet, the details of which were published by journalist Arkady Babchenko to raise funds for aid to Ukraine. According to the investigators, Blanki made 15 transfers totaling 1,680.69 USDT - about 135 thousand rubles. According to the First Class Human Rights Project, the investigation initially had data on six transfers. A further nine transactions were identified after crypto exchange Binance provided the investigative committee with Blanki's account history, personal data and transaction information. Blanki lived in Bulgaria since 2015, where he had a residence permit, and occasionally came to Russia. In September 2025, he was arrested at Sheremetyevo Airport on charges of petty hooliganism, and later a criminal case was opened for financing terrorism. Babchenko himself stated that he did not receive donations from Blanki and collected funds for medical aid to Ukrainian rescuers and paramedics. Human rights project "Support for political prisoners. Memory recognized Blanki as a political prisoner.