U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating whether Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, violated U.S. sanctions on Iran by allowing certain trading activity to continue on its platform, according to people familiar with the matter.
The investigation is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, with the Justice Department’s criminal division in Washington also involved. Prosecutors are examining whether Binance knowingly permitted transactions that breached Iran-related sanctions.
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Binance said it maintains a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy toward sanctions violations and fully cooperates with law enforcement.
The probe comes days after U.S. prosecutors sought the forfeiture of about $61 million in cryptocurrency allegedly linked to black-market Iranian oil sales.
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The Justice Department said two Chinese companies used Binance trading accounts to help move proceeds from Iranian oil sales with more than $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency allegedly flowing through related wallets. The forfeiture complaint did not accuse Binance itself of wrongdoing.
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The latest scrutiny adds to Binance’s regulatory history in the United States. In 2023, the exchange agreed to pay about $4.3 billion to resolve U.S. criminal investigations into sanctions, anti-money-laundering and other compliance violations.
The current investigation does not establish that Binance violated Iran sanctions and it remains unclear whether prosecutors will bring charges.
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