DOJ Alleges Binance Used to Funnel $1.5 Billion to Iran
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Federal prosecutors claim black-market oil proceeds moved through the exchange to fund the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
As Engadget first reported, the U.S. Department of Justice is accusing multiple companies of utilizing the cryptocurrency exchange Binance to transfer approximately $1.5 billion to Iran, citing reporting from The Wall Street Journal. Federal prosecutors detailed the allegations in a forfeiture complaint aimed at seizing $61 million in cryptocurrency.
According to Engadget, the DOJ alleges that the funds were moved through a network of interrelated digital wallets to support Iran's military. The scheme specifically involved two Hong Kong-based firms, Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust, which served as intermediaries for the sale of black-market Iranian oil to buyers located in China. The U.S. Attorney's Office stated that the companies used Binance to execute transactions involving these oil proceeds, some of which allegedly passed through the U.S. financial system to obscure the funds' origin.
Binance confirmed the activity, noting that its own internal investigators discovered that Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust, along with other entities, moved significant sums through the exchange to fund Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Engadget reports that Binance has since removed both firms from its platform, noting that Blessed Trust had previously been a business partner providing payment services.
Further complicating the matter, Engadget reports that Binance terminated several of the investigators who uncovered the suspicious transactions. While the company attributed these firings to "individual circumstances," the move has drawn scrutiny.
This latest development follows a history of regulatory failures for the exchange. As reported by Engadget, Binance pled guilty in 2023 to violating sanctions and anti-money-laundering laws, resulting in billions of dollars in fines. Founder Changpeng Zhao served four months in prison on related charges before receiving a full pardon from President Trump. Additionally, the exchange has faced accusations of allowing Iranian financier Babak Zanjani to transfer more than $850 million over a two-year period to fund Iran's war chest, an allegation Zanjani denies. Binance is also currently facing a class action lawsuit from investors who lost millions during a system outage.