Binance Denies Firing Own Team Over Iran Sanctions Report

• It was reported that Binance’s own team found over 1,500 accounts connected to Iran.
• Some of those wallets were allegedly linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
• Binance says the actions weren’t about compliance, but the mishandling of internal data.

Binance is pushing back hard against reports claiming it fired staff who found approximately $1.7 billion in crypto moving to Iranian-linked accounts. The exchange says the stories are wrong and that its own review found no evidence of sanctions being broken.

According to investigative reports from outlets like The New York Times, Binance’s own compliance team found over 1,500 accounts connected to Iran active on the exchange. 

The reports also claim that about $1.7 billion in crypto flowed from two Binance accounts to Iranian-linked wallets between 2024 and 2025. Some of those wallets were allegedly tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and groups such as the Houthis.

One of the accounts flagged belonged to Blessed Trust, a Hong Kong payments firm that worked with Binance to handle regular money. Investigators reportedly spotted over $1 billion moving through that account alone. 

After the reports surfaced, some of those investigators were allegedly suspended or fired, though Binance says the actions weren’t about compliance and were actually tied to mishandling internal data.

The exchange stated it handled things appropriately, which included spotting suspicious activity, reporting it to authorities, and shutting down problematic accounts. Binance also pointed out that its exposure to Iranian entities has dropped sharply, falling over 97% between January 2024 and January 2026, from $4.19 million down to roughly $110,000.

Binance co-founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao chimed in on X, saying the media was running with “negative narratives” from fired staff. He also insisted Binance has the “best compliance program in the industry.”

Binance’s History of Legal Troubles

The latest allegations come with Binance already under a microscope after its massive $4.3 billion settlement with US regulators in 2023 over money laundering and sanctions issues. As part of that deal, Binance agreed to tighten compliance and shake up leadership. 

In the aftermath, CZ stepped down as CEO, served four months in prison, and was later pardoned in 2025 by US President Donald Trump. The pardon cleared the way for CZ to run financial businesses again.

Even with Binance’s claims that it improved its compliance and increased investment into better regulatory systems, the new allegations about Iran-linked funds and fired investigators have sparked fresh doubts about whether crypto exchanges can really stop sanctions from being dodged at scale.

Related: Ex-Binance Staff Raises Crypto Manipulation Concerns, Yi He Responds