Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is embroiled in a major compliance controversy. According to an exclusive report by Fortune, several senior compliance investigators discovered during an internal investigation that entities linked to Iran allegedly received over $1 billion through the Binance platform, potentially violating US sanctions. These investigators were subsequently dismissed by the company.
This incident occurred after Binance was heavily penalized for violations and promised to strengthen compliance, raising questions about whether Binance has truly fulfilled its reform commitments.
Background: Binance, which had previously reached a large settlement, is now embroiled in controversy again.
In 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws, Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, and multiple sanctions, agreeing to pay a $4.3 billion fine, one of the highest fines ever levied on a U.S. company. Founder CZ(CZ) also pleaded guilty to failing to effectively oversee the company's operations and was later sentenced to four months in prison and resigned as CEO.
Binance publicly pledged at the time to enter a "regulatory maturity" phase, accept government regulation, and significantly expand its compliance team, recruiting many professionals with law enforcement backgrounds.
However, according to multiple unnamed sources and internal documents, Binance appears to have failed to fully deliver on its promises. Investigations reveal that between March 2024 and August 2025, entities linked to Iran used the Binance platform to conduct transactions on the Tron blockchain using the stablecoin Tether (USDT), totaling over $1 billion. These fund flows are suspected of circumventing US economic sanctions against Iran.
Investigators were fired one after another after discovering evidence of wrongdoing.
After investigators from the compliance team compiled their findings into an internal report, at least five senior investigators were dismissed starting in late 2025. At least three of them had backgrounds with law enforcement agencies in Europe and Asia, and many had previously worked within the company on special investigations and global financial crime cases, including sanctions evasion and counter-terrorism financing issues. These former employees simply announced their departures on LinkedIn without providing details or commenting further.
Meanwhile, at least four senior compliance executives have left or been asked to resign in the past three months, creating significant turmoil within the compliance team. Robert Appleton, former head of sanctions cases at the U.S. Department of Justice and now an attorney, expressed shock: "It's quite worrying that internal investigators would be fired for revealing potential violations during government oversight."
Binance responded: insists it is complying with regulations.
However, a Binance spokesperson responded that Binance could not comment on ongoing investigations or individual personnel cases, but emphasized that "Binance is committed to complying with sanctions laws and regulations in all operating markets," and employees who violate company policies will face termination. Binance also reiterated that it will continue to cooperate with law enforcement agencies, and its core compliance team remains operational.
