Amidst rising scrutiny over its compliance practices, Binance’s CEO Richard Teng has vehemently denied a Wall Street Journal report alleging that the cryptocurrency exchange facilitated $850 million in transactions linked to a sanctioned Iranian financier connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Teng took to social media on Friday to label the WSJ’s investigation as "fundamentally inaccurate," asserting that Binance has maintained a strict policy against transactions involving sanctioned individuals. He emphasized that flagged activities referred to in the report transpired prior to the imposition of sanctions by the U.S. and contended that the relevant details provided by Binance were not incorporated into the Journal's story.
The report, which surfaced on Thursday, spotlighted Babak Zanjani, an Iranian financier recently re-sanctioned by the U.S., as a key player in a clandestine crypto payment network that allegedly funneled the significant sum through Binance accounts over two years. Zanjani’s firm, Zedcex, reportedly operated in conjunction with various accounts belonging to relatives and close associates, all accessing the exchange from the same devices.
According to the WSJ, Binance's internal compliance reports raised alarms about the Zedcex account following suspicious access detected from Tehran in late 2024. Despite these alerts, the account remained active for an additional year, prompting as many as a dozen more internal notifications. The report claims that even after Binance’s investigators recommended shutting down the accounts and reporting them to authorities, they continued operating.
The scrutiny of Binance's operations has intensified since it pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering violations in 2023, resulting in a record $4.3 billion fine and a pledge to overhaul its compliance frameworks. Nevertheless, the Journal indicated that alleged Iranian fund flows resumed shortly after the settlement.
In a twist, the WSJ revealed that U.S. authorities are probing Iran's use of Binance to circumvent sanctions in light of the company's guilty plea. In response, Binance has filed a defamation lawsuit against the publication, seeking damages and asserting that it has no knowledge of any ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice.
Furthermore, the report cited claims that Iran's central bank transferred an additional $107 million in cryptocurrency to Binance accounts in 2025, alongside estimates of $260 million traced in direct transactions between Binance and Iranian terror financiers throughout 2024 and 2025.
“Binance has zero tolerance for illicit activity and operates a best-in-class compliance program that continues to evolve,” Teng remarked on X, underscoring the exchange's commitment to legal compliance.
In February, a prior WSJ report accused Binance of shutting down an internal inquiry into $1 billion that flowed through its platform, allegedly to Iranian proxy networks. The exchange has since rejected these claims, asserting the investigation remains active and is revealing a complex pattern of financial activities spanning Asia and the Middle East.
This series of allegations has cast a shadow over Binance, a leading player in the crypto world, as it navigates mounting regulatory challenges. The exchange continues to assert its commitment to adherence and transparency as it faces ongoing scrutiny from regulators and law enforcement.
Source: Cointelegraph
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