Following fresh media scrutiny over alleged Iran sanctions breaches, Binance defamation claims have moved to the center of a tense clash between the exchange and major US newspapers.
Teng accuses WSJ of false reporting
On Tuesday, Binance CEO Richard Teng publicly accused the Wall Street Journal of defamation after it reported that the exchange fired investigators who flagged about $1 billion in transfers tied to Iran-linked groups.
Teng posted on X, calling the article “inaccurate” and sharing a letter from Binance’s legal team at Withers Bergman addressed to WSJ editor-in-chief Emma Tucker. The letter demanded a full retraction and immediate correction of what it described as “false and defamatory” assertions.
The WSJ article, published Monday, alleged that internal Binance investigators had traced funds moving to “a network funding Iran-backed terror groups.” Moreover, it claimed the exchange dismantled the probe and fired the staff involved once those findings emerged.
Parallel reports from NYT and Fortune
The New York Times released a similar report the same day, stating that $1.7 billion flowed from two Binance accounts to Iranian entities allegedly tied to terrorist groups. In addition, Fortune had already published a related story on February 13, also alleging sanctions violations and employee dismissals around the same transactions.
Binance strongly rejected all three reports. A company spokesperson said an internal review “did not find evidence of violations of applicable sanctions laws or regulations related to the transactions described,” arguing that the media coverage mischaracterized both the findings and the company’s response.
Binance insists compliance staff resigned
In its rebuttal, Binance maintains that the four compliance workers at the center of the stories resigned voluntarily. The exchange says they were not terminated for raising sanctions concerns and that the suspicious activity was detected and escalated through the proper compliance channels.
“This is evidence that our controls are working, not the opposite,” a Binance spokesperson told CoinDesk, presenting the case as proof that internal monitoring systems functioned as designed rather than being suppressed.
However, the WSJ report cited Binance documents and people familiar with internal operations who claimed that the same type of conduct that led to the exchange’s 2023 US Department of Justice settlement has continued. That settlement required Binance to pay $4.3 billion, while founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to one count of failing to implement an effective Anti-Money Laundering program.
The WSJ further alleged that $1.7 billion was transferred from Binance-registered Chinese clients to Iran-backed groups, including Yemen’s Houthi militants, during 2024 and 2025. That said, Binance argues that these figures are being taken out of context and do not prove sanctions breaches.
Political pressure and formal inquiry
Late Tuesday, US Senator Richard Blumenthal escalated the situation by sending a letter to Teng that opened a formal inquiry into the sanctions allegations. He requested detailed records concerning Binance’s dealings with two Hong Kong entities that investigators had identified as potential sources of transfers to Iran.
Spokesperson Rachel Conlan told the New York Times that a full report on the matter would be submitted to the US Justice Department on February 25. Moreover, Binance said in a Sunday blog post that its “sanctions-related exposure is minimal” and described the recent media coverage as “distorted” and based on claims from “disgruntled former employees.”
Broader context around Binance and US scrutiny
The unfolding dispute over crypto sanctions allegations arrives as the exchange is still dealing with the aftershocks of its 2023 settlement with US authorities. The combination of the WSJ defamation claim, additional reporting by other outlets, and the Blumenthal inquiry records request signals renewed political attention on Binance’s global operations.
Former CEO Changpeng Zhao, who recently received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, reemerged in public last week at a crypto forum organized by Trump-backed World Liberty Financial. There, he said Binance.US aims to expand its US business, even as the parent exchange faces intensified oversight and reputational challenges.
Outlook for the exchange amid legal and reputational risks
The binance defamation battle highlights the high stakes for major exchanges operating under overlapping regulatory regimes and sanctions frameworks. For now, Binance insists that compliance staff resignations were routine and that internal reviews found no sanctions violations tied to the reported transactions.
However, with US lawmakers demanding documentation and media outlets standing by their reporting, the coming months will determine whether Binance’s defenses can withstand legal scrutiny and public pressure.
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/02/25/binance-defamation-dispute-sanctions/
