TLDR
- U.S. prosecutors are investigating Binance over possible Iran sanctions violations.
- The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office is leading the reported federal inquiry.
- The Justice Department’s criminal division is also involved in the investigation.
- Binance says it maintains zero tolerance for sanctions violations and cooperates with authorities.
- The exchange previously paid about $4.3 billion in a 2023 U.S. compliance settlement.
U.S. federal prosecutors are examining whether Binance allowed trading that may have breached American sanctions on Iran. Bloomberg reported the investigation on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The inquiry focuses on whether Binance knew about restricted activity and failed to stop it. It marks another test of the exchange’s controls after its major 2023 U.S. settlement agreement.
Binance Faces New Sanctions Review
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan is leading the reported inquiry, while the Justice Department’s criminal division is also involved. Prosecutors are reviewing Binance’s compliance controls and how the exchange handled activity linked to Iran. The probe follows a $61 million crypto forfeiture case filed this month.
That civil complaint targets funds that prosecutors linked to sanctioned Iranian oil sales. The complaint targets digital assets and does not accuse Binance of wrongdoing. Neither the Justice Department nor the Manhattan office immediately commented on Tuesday’s report.
Recent U.S. Actions Add Context
U.S. authorities have increased enforcement against crypto activity tied to Iran. On September 17, the Treasury Department sanctioned Iranian crypto exchange BitBank. It accused the exchange of moving Bitcoin connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and maritime payments.
The BitBank action formed part of wider U.S. enforcement. It targeted networks accused of helping Iran move money outside traditional financial channels. Authorities also targeted BitBank’s software developer and several people connected to sanctioned financier Babak Zanjani.
Binance Points to Compliance Efforts
Binance said it maintains zero tolerance for sanctions violations and cooperates with law enforcement. The exchange has repeatedly said it does not permit transactions involving sanctioned people. It also says more than 1,500 employees, about one-quarter of its workforce, work in compliance roles.
The company has faced similar scrutiny before. In 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to U.S. banking and compliance violations and agreed to pay about $4.3 billion. More recently, DOJ documents on crypto transfers showed Hamas-linked donors received instructions to avoid Binance for certain transfers. Binance cited this as evidence that its controls worked.
Senator Richard Blumenthal also opened a Senate inquiry in February into claims involving about $1.7 billion in possible sanctions breaches. Binance said it found no evidence supporting those claims. The latest reported investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not announced charges or findings against the exchange at this stage.
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