Federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the Department of Justice are investigating whether Binance Holdings Ltd. knowingly allowed trades that violated U.S. sanctions on Iran. The probe follows a September 14, 2026 civil forfeiture complaint targeting $61 million in cryptocurrency laundered through Binance accounts by Hong Kong entities Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale Trading. The funds are linked to a $1.5 billion black-market Iranian oil scheme. Binance, which paid $4.3 billion in 2023 for prior compliance failures, maintains a zero-tolerance policy and is cooperating with law enforcement.
DOJ Iran sanctions probe
- ▪The Department of Justice and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on the active investigation into Binance Holdings Ltd.'s sanctions compliance
- ▪The federal investigation into Binance Holdings Ltd.'s compliance efforts is examining whether the cryptocurrency exchange knowingly processed trades from Iran that are banned under current regulations
- ▪The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice's Criminal Division are investigating whether Binance Holdings Ltd. knowingly allowed trading on its platform that violated U.S. sanctions on Iran
Binance 2023 guilty plea
- ▪Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stepped down, served a four-month prison sentence, and was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2025 as part of the resolution of the 2023 federal charges
- ▪According to the Department of Justice, Binance Holdings Ltd. had facilitated more than $898 million in trades between U.S. users and Iran-based users from 2018 to 2022 prior to Binance's 2023 guilty plea to sanctions and anti-money-laundering violations
- ▪Binance Holdings Ltd. pleaded guilty in November 2023 to federal anti-money laundering and sanctions violations, agreeing to pay over $4.3 billion in penalties and accept two independent compliance monitors
$61 million forfeiture complaint
- ▪The September 14, 2026 civil forfeiture complaint filed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan names Hong Kong-based entities Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale Trading as the parties accused of using Binance accounts to transfer funds to the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
- ▪Federal prosecutors in Manhattan filed a civil forfeiture complaint on September 14, 2026, seeking to seize approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency linked to black-market Iranian oil sales
- ▪Binance Holdings Ltd. is not named as a defendant in the September 14, 2026 civil forfeiture complaint, and CEO Richard Teng stated the complaint does not allege any wrongdoing by Binance
Iranian oil proceeds scheme
- ▪Hexa Whale Trading processed approximately $490 million in trading volume through Binance, while Blessed Trust processed approximately $1.2 billion, before Binance offboarded Hexa Whale Trading's and Blessed Trust's accounts in August 2025 and January 2026 respectively
- ▪U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal opened an inquiry in February 2026 demanding records on Hexa Whale Trading and Blessed Trust following reports that Binance internal investigators found over $1 billion in Iran-linked flows
- ▪Federal prosecutors allege that the $61 million targeted in the September 14, 2026 civil forfeiture complaint is part of a broader scheme that funneled over $1.5 billion in illicit Iranian oil proceeds through digital wallets to Chinese buyers
Binance zero-tolerance policy
- ▪Binance Holdings Ltd. stated that its direct exposure to four major Iranian exchanges fell 97.3% over two years, from $4.19 million to $110,000, following internal compliance reforms
- ▪A Binance spokesperson stated that the exchange maintains a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations, fully cooperates with law enforcement, and is committed to shutting down bad actors
Debatable claims
- ▪The US government should maintain strict compliance monitoring over Binance
- ▪Binance's post-2023 compliance reforms have failed to prevent sanctions evasion
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