According to BlockBeats, on May 23, the WSJ reported that Binance is accused of processing approximately $850 million in transactions related to Iranian sanctions-related financial networks over two years, which ultimately flowed to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
In response, Binance CEO Richard Teng posted on the X platform denying the reports, stating that they were "completely inaccurate." He emphasized that Binance would not allow sanctioned entities to trade and indicated that the suspicious activity occurred before the entities in question were sanctioned by the United States.
The report states that the key figure is Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani, whose related companies and accounts are alleged to have operated through the same device, forming a secret payment network on the Binance platform. The report also claims that Binance's internal compliance system detected unusual access from Tehran in late 2024, triggering multiple risk control alerts, but the relevant accounts were not closed in a timely manner.
The WSJ further pointed out that the Central Bank of Iran and related entities also conducted fund transfers through Binance between 2024 and 2025, including approximately $107 million and other cross-border crypto transactions.
Binance reiterated that its compliance system is "industry-leading" and emphasized that it has continued to strengthen its risk control mechanisms since pleading guilty and paying a $4.3 billion settlement in 2023. Meanwhile, Binance has filed a defamation lawsuit against the WSJ regarding the reports and denied that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating it in the matter.
