US Probes Whether Binance 'Knowingly' Let Iran-Linked Trades Through: Report
Federal prosecutors in New York and Washington are probing whether Binance failed to stop transactions that violated U.S. sanctions on Iran, Bloomberg reported. The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office is leading the inquiry with involvement from the Justice Department's criminal division, while Binance says it enforces a zero-tolerance policy on sanctions breaches.
Why It Matters
The inquiry revisits Binance's past compliance failures: the exchange pleaded guilty in a separate case and paid $4.3 billion, and prosecutors are now scrutinizing whether recent or historical trades evaded U.S. sanctions. Findings could affect ongoing regulatory and enforcement scrutiny of major crypto platforms.
Key Facts
- Reporting outlet: Bloomberg
- Investigating offices: Manhattan U.S. attorney's office and DOJ criminal division
- Allegation: Whether Binance knowingly allowed trading that breached U.S. sanctions on Iran
- Binance statement: Maintains a "zero-tolerance policy" for sanctions violations and cooperates with law enforcement
- Prior enforcement: Binance pleaded guilty ~3 years ago, paid $4.3 billion and accepted two corporate monitors
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Binance permitted trading that violated U.S. sanctions targeting Iran, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The inquiry is being handled by the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office with participation from the Justice Department's criminal division in Washington. Authorities are examining whether the exchange knowingly allowed the transactions; the specific trades under review were not identified in the report.
Binance has publicly said it enforces a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations and cooperates with law enforcement. The company previously pleaded guilty to U.S. charges related to failures in banking and sanctions compliance, paid $4.3 billion in penalties and accepted two corporate monitors. Co-founder Changpeng Zhao subsequently stepped down as CEO, served a four-month sentence, and was later pardoned by President Donald Trump.
Recent media reporting has added context to the current scrutiny. Fortune and The New York Times reported internal probes and figures suggesting over $1 billion — and in one account $1.7 billion — moved to Iran-linked entities, and The Wall Street Journal reported related employee firings. Binance contested those accounts in a March 10 post, saying the funds neither originated nor ended on its platform and that, after tracing, at most $126.1 million reached wallets linked to Iran, with up to $24.1 million reaching IRGC-related wallets. Binance also said no employee was dismissed for escalating compliance concerns and has challenged some reporting in court.
Separately, Senator Richard Blumenthal opened a preliminary inquiry and sought records on two entities named in press reports, Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust. Prosecutors in Manhattan recently sought forfeiture of $61 million they say came from Iranian black-market oil sales and was laundered through Binance; that forfeiture action accused two Hong Kong-registered companies of misrepresenting their business activities but did not charge Binance with wrongdoing. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control has also broadened tools for targeting Iran's digital-asset sector as part of its Operation Economic Outcast, including designations and sanctions announced in 2023.
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