Binance denies WSJ allegations of $850 million in Iran-related transactions

WSJ reported that Binance was accused of handling approximately $850 million in transactions related to Iranian sanctions-related financial networks over two years, which ultimately flowed to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In response, BinanceCEO Richard Teng issued an article on the X platform denying the relevant report, saying the report was "not accurate at all", emphasizing that Binance would not allow sanctioned entities to trade, and said that the relevant suspicious behavior occurred before the entities involved were sanctioned by the United States. According to the report, the core figure is Iranian businessman BabakZanjani, and his related companies and related accounts are accused of operating through the same device to form a secret payment network on the Binance platform. The report also stated that Binance's internal compliance system had identified abnormal visits from Tehran at the end of 2024 and triggered multiple risk control alerts, but the relevant accounts were not closed in time. WSJ further pointed out that Iran's central bank and related entities also conducted capital flows through Binance between 2024 and 2025, including approximately US$107 million and other cross-border crypto transactions. Binance reiterated that its compliance system is "industry-leading" and emphasized that it has continued to strengthen its risk control mechanism after pleading guilty and paying a US$4.3 billion settlement in 2023. At the same time, Binance has filed a defamation lawsuit against WSJ over relevant reports and denies that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating it on the matter.