DOJ Reopens Binance Probe Over Alleged Iran Sanctions Breaches

TLDR

• The DOJ is reviewing whether Binance violated its 2023 settlement agreement.
• A Wall Street Journal report says accounts linked to Iranian financier Babak Zanjani moved about $850 million through Binance.
• A separate $61 million forfeiture case names two Chinese firms accused of laundering Iranian oil proceeds.
• Binance says it blocked and removed the accounts in question after internal investigations.
• Past deferred prosecution breaches at companies like Boeing and Standard Chartered led to extra fines or new agreements.

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Federal prosecutors are looking into whether Binance broke the terms of a settlement it signed in 2023. Binance paid $4.3 billion that year to resolve a US criminal case.

DOJ Examines Whether Binance Breached 2023 Settlement Amid Iran Sanctions Probe

The U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing whether Binance breached its 2023 settlement amid an investigation into potential violations of Iran sanctions, Bloomberg reported. Federal prosecutors… pic.twitter.com/RsjYgaa0is

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 9, 2026

Tysen Duva, who leads the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, confirmed the review to Bloomberg on October 9. The DOJ has not said which specific incidents are under scrutiny.

What Triggered the Review

Three separate cases have raised questions about Binance’s compliance. The first involves a suspected Iranian payment network tied to financier Babak Zanjani.

🇺🇸NEW: The US DOJ is reviewing @Binance’s compliance with its 2023 settlement while authorities investigate potential Iran sanctions violations involving activity on the platform.

The review comes after Binance agreed to a $4.3B penalty and enhanced compliance controls in 2023. pic.twitter.com/m1vlnl672p

— SolanaFloor (@SolanaFloor) October 9, 2026

The Wall Street Journal reported that accounts linked to Zanjani processed close to $850 million through Binance. Zanjani is a longtime financier for Iran’s government and was sentenced to death in 2016 before his sentence was commuted.

US and Israeli authorities say Zanjani ran a payment system for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He used a network of 21 trading accounts and shell companies across Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to move funds.

An internal Binance document said at least $67 million flowed from two of these accounts to wallets linked to the Guard Corps. Binance said it blocked the accounts starting in late 2025 and removed the rest by May of this year.

The second case is a $61 million forfeiture filing from September. Prosecutors allege two Chinese firms, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, used Binance accounts to launder money from Iranian oil sales.

Authorities say the wider network tied to these firms moved more than $1.5 billion. Binance says it investigated and removed both companies once the activity was found.

The third matter concerns whether Binance knowingly allowed trades that broke US sanctions rules. This part of the review overlaps with the other two cases, according to reports.

No wrongdoing has been formally alleged against Binance or its staff in the forfeiture complaint.

How Zanjani’s Network Operated

A Tajik associate of Zanjani named Sukhrob Oimakhmadov was described internally by Binance as a high value customer. His account received more than $10 million from wallets Israel’s Defense Ministry later linked to the Guard Corps.

Binance had investigated Oimakhmadov once before over ties to an Iranian money exchange. The company kept him as a client at that time using a risk based approach, according to the internal report.

His account led investigators to a corporate account tied to a firm called Zedcex, which presented itself as a London based trading platform. Records show the Zedcex account was accessed from Tehran more than a dozen times between late 2024 and late 2025.

The Zedcex account alone recorded close to $830 million in transactions. That included $56 million in withdrawals to wallets Israel’s Defense Ministry linked to the Guard Corps.

Investigators also found accounts tied to a Turkish firm called ZedPay, which offered a mobile payment app. Treasury sanctioned ZedPay and its chief executive in July, along with other members of the network.

A Binance spokesperson said the company identified the activity and acted months ago. The spokesperson added that total trading volume does not equal funds that reached the Guard Corps.

What Could Happen Next

Past cases offer some context. Ericsson pleaded guilty and paid $206.7 million in 2023 after breaching its own agreement. Standard Chartered paid more than $1 billion in 2019 over Iran sanctions violations.

Boeing also breached an agreement in 2024 but later secured a new deal and had its criminal charge dismissed in 2025. These cases suggest outcomes can range from added fines to fresh agreements or criminal charges.

A negotiated resolution looks more likely than immediate action against Binance’s operations. The DOJ has not set a timeline for concluding its review.