U.S. federal prosecutors are examining whether Binance knowingly let trading that breached Iran sanctions continue on its platform. The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office and the Justice Department's criminal division are both involved, and the probe follows months of separate allegations that $1.7 billion in Iran-linked transactions moved through the exchange.
Bloomberg reported Monday that federal prosecutors are investigating whether Binance violated sanctions on Iran by not stopping certain trading on its platform, citing people familiar with the matter. The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office is handling the inquiry, and the Justice Department's criminal division in Washington is also involved, with authorities scrutinizing whether the exchange knowingly allowed the trading.
The transactions under examination were not identified, and Justice Department investigations can close without charges being filed. Spokespeople for the department and the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office declined to comment. Binance said: "We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations," adding that it cooperates with law enforcement.
A prior guilty plea and a $4.3 billion fine
The exchange pleaded guilty almost three years ago to failing to comply with U.S. banking and sanctions law, paid $4.3 billion and took on two corporate monitors. Co-founder Changpeng Zhao stepped down as chief executive, served four months in prison and was pardoned by President Donald Trump last year.
The $1.7 billion allegation
Fortune reported on February 13 that internal investigators had found more than $1 billion moving through the platform to Iran-linked entities and were then dismissed. The Wall Street Journal carried the firings on February 23, and the New York Times put the sum sent to Iranian entities at $1.7 billion the same day. Senator Richard Blumenthal opened a preliminary inquiry the following day, demanding records on two entities, Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust.
Binance rejected that account in a March 10 post, saying the money neither originated nor terminated on its platform and that at most $126.1 million reached wallets linked to Iran after multiple hops, of which at most $24.1 million reached IRGC-related wallets. It said no employee was dismissed for escalating compliance concerns and has sued the Journal over the reporting.
A parallel forfeiture case
Both entities resurfaced last week, when Manhattan prosecutors sought forfeiture of $61 million they say came from Iranian black-market oil sales and was laundered through Binance. Two Hong Kong-registered companies misrepresented their business activities, prosecutors said. Binance was not accused of wrongdoing in that action.
The new criminal probe lands as Washington widens its reach over Iran-linked crypto activity: OFAC gave itself the power in August to designate any foreign person operating in Iran's digital asset sector, wherever they are based.
Source: Decrypt
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
