The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has revealed links between crypto accounts on big-name exchanges like Binance, OKX, HTX, Bybit, and Kraken and various international criminal organizations.
The ICIJ’s Coin Laundry report found that Binance facilitated at least $408 million worth of tether (USDT) transactions for the organized crime-linked Huione Group between July 2024 and July 2025.
As such, the ICIJ claims Binance profited from these funds between the guilty plea of its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, and his pardon in October.
Zhao’s plea deal resulted in him stepping down as CEO while the exchange was placed under the inspection of monitors. He recently suggested that if Binance were ever allocated a “refund” for the $4.3 billion fine, he would reinvest it “in America.”
The ICIJ also found that OKX customer accounts received $226 million worth of USDT from Huione in the months after it pleaded guilty to operating an illegal money transmitter.
Over $161 million was received after the US Treasury designated the Huione Group as a “primary money launderer” in May.
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The Cambodia-based financial conglomerate is behind a Telegram-based marketplace popular with the scam industry in Southeast Asia and helps human traffickers and scammers launder funds.
Huione reportedly funneled roughly $1 million worth of USDT a day to customer accounts on Binance, and has continued to do so despite the US designation in May.
The ICIJ also found that scam funds were being sent to accounts on Justin Sun’s HTX, Bybit, and that a top member of a Russian-speaking crime network was arranging bulk crypto transactions from a Kraken account.
It also worked with the tracing firm Chainargos to reveal that five Binance deposit addresses received a spike of over $900 million from crypto swapping platform THORChain.
This happened as North Korea hackers moved the proceeds of the $1.5 billion Bybit hack.
However, it noted there’s no evidence that the accounts were operated by North Korean money launderers. Regardless, blockchain analysts told ICIJ that Binance should have realised these THORChain funds were likely made up of the Bybit hack proceeds.
ICIJ’s findings go deep
The wider Coin Laundry report is part of an ICIJ investigation that collaborated with various Blockchain analysts and over 100 journalists across 37 international media partners to assess the extent to which the crypto industry is used by criminals.
Other reports dive into the spectrum of crypto regulation across the globe, the shadowy businesses of crypto-to-cash storefronts, and the schemes of a multi-million dollar crypto scammer attempting to utilize Hollywood to promote their latest crypto metaverse.
As part of the ICIJ’s report into crypto exchanges and illicit funds, it claimed, “The findings raise questions about whether exchanges are doing enough to stop illicit flows, either by freezing funds, closing accounts or carefully monitoring suspicious transactions.”
The report also highlights the desperate circumstances victims of crypto scams find themselves in, the lack of resources crypto exchanges are allocating to compliance departments, and the tools provided to other criminal networks, including Mexican cartels and Chinese fentanyl traffickers.
In response to the ICIJ’s question about Huione Group transactions, Binance claimed it works closely with law enforcement, it cannot block deposits, and that “users who transact with this service are subject to investigation by our compliance department, and appropriate action will be taken if any potential illicit activities are identified.”
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Source: https://protos.com/binance-okx-htx-bybit-kraken-cited-in-icij-scam-probe/