U.S. federal prosecutors are examining whether Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, knowingly allowed users to bypass U.S. sanctions against Iran, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Authorities are scrutinizing Binance's compliance with sanctions laws.
The investigation, led by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan, seeks to determine if Binance permitted trading activities that contravened these sanctions. The Department of Justice’s criminal division in Washington, D.C., is also involved in this inquiry, which aims to ascertain whether Binance was aware of these violations as trading continued.
A spokesperson for Binance stated, "We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations. We fully cooperate with law enforcement, and we remain committed to rooting out and shutting down bad actors." However, the Justice Department and the Manhattan attorney's office have not provided comments regarding the investigation.
This scrutiny follows Binance's previous guilty plea in 2023 for banking compliance violations, which resulted in a $4.3 billion fine. The company has been emphasizing its commitment to compliance, noting that approximately 25% of its workforce, over 1,500 employees, is dedicated to compliance efforts.
In response to earlier allegations that Iran may have used its platform for illicit fund transfers, Binance filed a defamation lawsuit against Dow Jones, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, which had reported on the investigation into these potential violations. Richard Teng, Binance's co-CEO, criticized the reporting as inaccurate.
Additionally, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal initiated a probe in February regarding alleged sanctions violations involving $1.7 billion linked to Binance. The exchange has claimed that it found no evidence supporting these allegations.