The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York filed a civil lawsuit on 09/14/2023 seeking to forfeit $61 million in cryptocurrency tied to Binance accounts and Iran’s illegal oil transactions.
Prosecutors said this money was transferred through trading accounts belonging to Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, two companies headquartered in China, before reaching Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – an organization designated as a terrorist group by the United States.
Entities related to Iran that Binance had previously claimed were “clean”
“Today’s action demonstrates our determination to stop the Iranian Government and its affiliated terrorist forces from using illicit sources of funding to threaten the lives and safety of people in the United States and other countries.”
U.S. Deputy Attorney Sean Buckley made the statement above when announcing the lawsuit on 14/09/2023.
The lawsuit just mentioned specifically refers to exactly two entities that the U.S. Congress investigated earlier this year.
In March 2023, Binance publicly rebutted these allegations when co-CEO Richard Teng called them “false and defamatory.”
We’ve voluntarily responded to Senator Blumenthal’s inquiry which raises false and defamatory allegations reported by the WSJ. While we take such matters seriously, it’s important for us to highlight our industry-leading compliance which we've worked hard to build and protect our… pic.twitter.com/qOZ7h1y5nu
— Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) March 6, 2026
Binance still insists that no funds directly touched the Iranian entities. However, the content of the lawsuit just filed tells a different story.
Prosecutors allege that a wallet network named “Entity A” transferred more than $1.5 billion in illegal oil profits from Iran. The network routed money to services linked to the IRGC and an Iranian exchange.
A scenario repeated many times with Binance
This is not the first time Binance-related accounts have appeared in reports of sanctions violations related to Iran.
Reuters reported that the Shelbit exchange—linked to Iran and previously fined by Dubai—had transferred $676 million to Binance.
In the past, in 2023, Binance admitted violations of the sanctions and paid a $4.3 billion fine.
This time, the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit does not list Binance as a defendant. Therefore, the action focuses on the alleged forfeiture of the cryptocurrency and the purported role of Blessed Trust together with Hexa Whale.
A sensitive time for Binance’s plan to return to the UK
The lawsuit was filed just two weeks before Binance began submitting its application for an operating license in the UK on 30/09/2023.
Binance is seeking approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under a new cryptocurrency regulatory framework in the UK, which emphasizes governance and compliance standards.
At this time, the appearance of yet another lawsuit related to money laundering involving Iran makes Binance’s path to obtaining a license even more difficult. However, Binance is not being prosecuted in this case.
How the FCA will assess this lawsuit relative to Binance’s license application will become clearer after the application intake process begins.
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