Binance disputes $850M Iran-linked crypto report

Binance pushed back against a recent investigation that said the exchange processed roughly $850 million in transactions tied to Iranian-linked accounts, calling the findings “fundamentally inaccurate.” CEO Richard Teng posted on X that the company never permitted transactions with sanctioned individuals and that flagged activity occurred before those people were placed under U.S. sanctions.

The published investigation identified Babak Zanjani, re-sanctioned by U.S. authorities in January, as the center of an alleged crypto payment network. It said accounts tied to Zanjani’s firm, Zedcex, along with accounts linked to his relatives and associates, showed activity from the same devices and together moved about $850 million through exchange accounts over two years.

According to the investigation, Binance’s compliance systems flagged the Zedcex account after detecting access from Tehran in late 2024. The account reportedly generated more than a dozen internal alerts while remaining open for more than a year. Internal investigators recommended closing the accounts and notifying authorities, the reporting said, but the accounts stayed active.

Binance rejected the suggestion that account-handling decisions were improper and said it did not shut down any internal probe. The exchange said an internal review identified a complex, multi-jurisdictional pattern of activity across Asia, the Middle East and other regions. In a separate March response to a Senate inquiry, the company told regulators it did not facilitate transactions to Iranian entities.

The investigation also reported that Iran’s central bank moved about $107 million in cryptocurrency into exchange accounts in 2025 and that a foreign law-enforcement agency traced roughly $260 million in direct transactions during 2024 and 2025 between exchange accounts and individuals designated as terrorist financiers. The report said the U.S. Department of Justice is probing alleged efforts to evade sanctions using the platform after the company’s 2023 guilty plea.

Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 to charges related to anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations and paid a $4.3 billion penalty as part of a settlement that included commitments to overhaul its compliance systems. The company said it has continued investing in and upgrading those systems since the settlement.

In response to the investigation, Binance filed a defamation lawsuit against the outlet behind the report, seeking damages and a jury trial. The exchange denied knowledge of any Department of Justice probe and said it is cooperating with regulators and law enforcement.

Teng wrote on X that “Binance has zero-tolerance for illicit activity and has built and operates a best-in-class industry-leading compliance program that continues to grow,” and said the company provided investigators with information it believes was omitted from the published account.