Federal prosecutors are investigating Binance for potentially allowing users to breach U.S. sanctions against Iran, amid ongoing compliance issues.
Federal prosecutors in the United States are investigating whether Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange, facilitated user transactions that violated U.S. sanctions against Iran, as reported by Bloomberg.
Binance's sanction compliance under scrutiny
The inquiry is spearheaded by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan and includes the criminal division of the Department of Justice based in Washington, D.C. The focus is on whether Binance was aware that certain trading activities breached these sanctions.
A representative from Binance asserted, "We uphold a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations and are dedicated to collaborating with law enforcement to eliminate bad actors." However, the Justice Department and the Manhattan attorney's office have refrained from making any comments on the ongoing investigation.
This investigation comes on the heels of Binance's 2023 admission of guilt over banking compliance issues, which led to a hefty $4.3 billion penalty. The exchange highlighted its efforts to enhance compliance, revealing that around 25% of its staff, totaling over 1,500 individuals, focus on these initiatives.
Following earlier claims that Iran had utilized its services for illicit transfers, Binance filed a defamation lawsuit against Dow Jones, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, which had reported on the matter. Richard Teng, co-CEO of Binance, denounced the article as misleading.
Moreover, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal initiated a separate investigation in February concerning alleged sanctions violations involving $1.7 billion tied to Binance. The exchange maintained that it discovered no evidence to substantiate these claims.
