Binance Faces U.S. Probe Over Alleged Sanctions Violations: Bloomberg

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the U.S. Department of Justice are reportedly examining whether Binance knowingly allowed users to circumvent American sanctions on Iran.

U.S. prosecutors are investigating whether Binance breached Iran-related sanctions by failing to block certain trading activity on its platform, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the investigation.

The inquiry is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which is reviewing the world’s largest crypto exchange’s sanctions compliance, according to the sources, who requested anonymity.

The Justice Department’s criminal division in Washington, D.C., is also assisting with the probe. One source said investigators are seeking to determine whether Binance allowed transactions to continue even after becoming aware that they could violate U.S. sanctions laws.

“We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations,” a Binance spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We fully cooperate with law enforcement, and we remain committed to rooting out and shutting down bad actors.”

The Justice Department and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office had not responded to CoinDesk’s requests for comment at the time of publication.

Binance has faced scrutiny from U.S. authorities before. In 2023, the exchange pleaded guilty to banking compliance violations and agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties.

Since then, Binance has highlighted its efforts to work with regulators and law enforcement agencies. In a February blog post, the company said more than 1,500 employees, representing roughly 25% of its global workforce, were involved in compliance-related roles.

In March, Binance sued Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, for defamation after the newspaper reported that the Justice Department was investigating whether Iran had used Binance to transfer funds in violation of U.S. sanctions.

Richard Teng, Binance’s co-CEO, criticized the report at the time, accusing the Wall Street Journal of publishing “inaccurate reporting about our compliance program.”

The New York Times reported in April that Binance had introduced additional hurdles for law enforcement agencies in several countries seeking user information, potentially making it more difficult to track scammers and investigate money laundering.

Binance has repeatedly maintained that it has never allowed transactions involving sanctioned individuals and has pledged to continue working with authorities.

In February, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat serving on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, launched an investigation into allegations that Binance had facilitated about $1.7 billion in sanctions-related violations. Binance rejected the allegations, saying its own review found no evidence supporting the claims.