Binance Firing Investigators in $1.7B Iran-Linked Crypto Flows Is False; Report

TLDR

• Reports claim Binance investigators traced $1.7B in crypto to Iran-linked entities.

• Binance says no staff were dismissed for raising sanctions concerns.

• Over 1,500 Binance accounts were accessed from Iran, reports said.

• Binance says exposure to major Iranian exchanges dropped over 97% since 2024.

Binance denies firing investigators tied to $1.7B in Iran-linked crypto flows after reports claimed the exchange removed staff who raised concerns about transactions connected to Iranian entities. The company said no employee was dismissed for reporting possible sanctions issues.

Reports of Iran-Linked Crypto Movements

Media reports said Binance investigators found that more than 1,500 accounts on the exchange had been accessed from Iran during the past year. The investigators also reported that about $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency moved from two Binance accounts to entities linked to Iran, including wallets tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The New York Times said the internal team presented these findings to senior executives, including CEO Richard Teng and Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman.

One of the two accounts belonged to Blessed Trust, a Hong Kong payments firm that worked with Binance as a fiat partner. Reports said the investigators linked transfers from the account to Iranian networks. Blessed Trust told reporters that the company did not knowingly support restricted activity and said its work with Binance involved routine financial tasks such as payroll and invoice settlement.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that a Hong Kong entity named Hexa Whale Trading moved about $500 million in USDT to an Iranian-linked network. Investigators said these funds reached groups backed by Iran, including Yemen’s Houthis, according to documents cited by the two publications.

Claims of Binance Staff Suspensions and Internal Action

Reports said that the investigators involved in reviewing the Iranian transactions were suspended or dismissed in 2025. The Wall Street Journal reported that the internal probe was shut down weeks after founder Changpeng Zhao received a U.S. presidential pardon.

The New York Times said at least four investigators were disciplined for alleged mishandling of client information not long after reporting the crypto flows.

Several compliance officials have left Binance in recent months as the company continues its search for a successor to Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman, who is expected to leave later this year. These changes added further attention to the reports on the internal probe.

Binance Issues Public Response

In a statement, Binance said no investigator was dismissed for raising compliance concerns. “We strongly dispute the assertions made in recent reports,” a spokesperson said. The company said its internal review did not find evidence of sanctions violations linked to the reported transactions. The spokesperson added that Binance detected and reported suspicious activity and said this showed that its internal controls were working.

The exchange also shared data on its exposure to Iranian entities. It said direct exposure to the four largest Iranian crypto exchanges fell by more than 97 percent between January 2024 and January 2026, dropping from $4.19 million to about $0.11 million. Binance said that exposure cannot be removed completely because public blockchain networks allow anyone to send funds to deposit addresses.

Changpeng Zhao said on social media that recent reports repeated negative claims from former employees. He said Binance maintains what he called the industry’s best compliance program. Zhao stepped down as CEO under a 2023 U.S. settlement but remains a major shareholder.

Ongoing Compliance Measures and Regulatory Background

Binance continues to operate under reforms required by its 2023 settlement with U.S. authorities. The company pleaded guilty to anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations and agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties. Under the settlement, Binance must report potential unlawful activity and cooperate with law enforcement.

Reports said Binance investigators continued to find possible sanctions breaches last year. These findings included access from sanctioned jurisdictions and activity from Russian vessels that were believed to be evading restrictions. Binance stated that the vessels were not sanctioned and said the activity did not amount to a violation.

The company said the accounts tied to the Iranian-linked transfers were removed and that authorities were notified. The crypto exchange added that no employee involved in the investigation was dismissed for raising compliance issues and said disciplinary cases were related to the handling of confidential data.

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