Binance Fights Back Against $850M Iran Money Claims

The world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, is in hot water again over claims it helped move $850 million connected to Iran.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Binance processed huge amounts of money linked to Babak Zanjani, an Iranian businessman under US sanctions (official bans that prevent doing business with certain people or countries). The newspaper claims this money eventually reached Iran's military forces.

Binance's CEO Richard Teng strongly denied these accusations, saying: • The exchange never knowingly worked with sanctioned individuals • Any suspicious activity happened before these people were officially banned • Binance investigated these issues even before the newspaper contacted them

This isn't Binance's first sanctions problem. In 2023, the company paid a record $4.3 billion fine after admitting it broke anti-money laundering rules (laws that prevent criminals from hiding illegal money). The exchange promised to improve its systems to catch illegal activity.

The Journal also reported that: • Iran's central bank allegedly moved $107 million through Binance in 2025 • About $260 million reportedly flowed between Binance and Iranian terrorist groups • Binance's own investigators recommended closing suspicious accounts, but they stayed open

Why does this matter? Cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance must follow strict rules about who they can do business with. Breaking these rules can result in massive fines and criminal charges. For regular crypto users, these compliance issues could affect the exchange's operations and reputation.

Binance maintains it has "zero tolerance" for illegal activity and continues to cooperate with regulators worldwide.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-denies-new-wsj-report-alleging-850m-in-iran-linked-transactions?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound