TLDR
- U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating whether Binance knowingly allowed trades that violated Iran sanctions
- The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office is leading the probe, with the DOJ’s Criminal Division also involved
- A separate civil forfeiture case targets $61 million in crypto tied to Iranian oil proceeds
- Two Chinese firms, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, allegedly used Binance accounts to launder Iranian oil money
- Binance says it has zero tolerance for sanctions violations and cooperates fully with law enforcement
U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating whether Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, knowingly allowed trading that violated U.S. sanctions on Iran. The probe was reported by Bloomberg on September 22, nearly three years after Binance’s $4.3 billion federal settlement in 2023.
Breaking: U.S. Prosecutors Probe Binance Over Possible Iran Sanctions Violations
U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating whether Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, violated U.S. sanctions on Iran by knowingly allowing certain transactions to proceed, Bloomberg… pic.twitter.com/P1VBmC1Jfu
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 22, 2026
The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office is leading the inquiry. The Justice Department’s Criminal Division in Washington is also involved. Prosecutors are examining Binance’s compliance controls and whether the exchange was aware of the transactions in question.
Binance responded quickly with a statement. The exchange said it has a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations and fully cooperates with law enforcement.
The $61 Million Forfeiture Case
A separate court action filed on September 14 adds more detail to the Iran-linked allegations. The Southern District of New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint targeting approximately $61 million in USDT held across 10 cryptocurrency addresses.
Prosecutors allege the funds came from black-market Iranian crude oil and petroleum sales. The money was allegedly intended to finance Iranian government and military bodies, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Two Chinese companies are named in the complaint: Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale. Prosecutors say both firms used Binance trading accounts while handling proceeds connected to Iranian oil sales.
The forfeiture complaint does not accuse Binance of wrongdoing. It targets the cryptocurrency held in specific wallets, not the exchange itself.
Prosecutors say a network of crypto actors laundered more than $1.5 billion in illicit oil proceeds. Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale allegedly used the U.S. financial system to send or receive tens of millions of dollars.
The assets are described as USDT held on the TRON network. The complaint says Tether would burn the tokens under a seizure warrant and issue replacements for U.S. government custody.
Binance’s Timeline and Response
Binance provided its own account of how it handled the two firms. The exchange said law enforcement contacted it in April 2025 about transactions linked to possible terrorism financing. Binance supplied records for Hexa Whale in June 2025 and removed the account on August 13, 2025.
Binance said it offboarded Blessed Trust in January 2026 after a source-of-funds review. The exchange says it found no evidence that any Binance account transacted directly with an Iran-based entity.
Binance’s internal review found that around $126.1 million eventually reached wallets linked to Iran after multiple blockchain hops. Of that, as much as $24.1 million reached IRGC-related wallets.
The exchange points to its compliance resources in its defense. Binance says over 1,500 people work in compliance, around 25% of its global workforce. It processed more than 71,000 law enforcement requests in 2025.
This comes after Binance pleaded guilty in November 2023 to Bank Secrecy Act violations and breaching the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. That settlement required Binance to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.
The civil forfeiture case in the Southern District of New York is ongoing. All allegations remain unproven unless a court awards judgment to the government.
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