Binance CEO Richard Teng has dismissed a new investigation by the Wall Street Journal that claims the exchange handled $850 million in transactions linked to a sanctioned Iranian financier, which eventually went to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
On Friday publish on X, Teng called the report “fundamentally false,” saying that Binance never allowed transactions with sanctioned individuals and that any flagged activity occurred before those individuals were placed under US sanctions. He also claimed that Binance had investigated the issues before the Journal contacted the company, and that the facts he cited were not included in the story.
Journal report, published on Thursday identified Babak Zanjani, who was re-sanctioned by the US in January, as the central figure in a clandestine crypto payments network that ran $850 million through Binance accounts over two years. Zanjani’s company Zedcex, along with accounts belonging to his sister, romantic partner and company director, all operated from the same devices, according to the report.
Source: Richard Teng
The magazine claimed that Binance’s internal compliance reports flagged the Zedcex account after discovering access from Tehran in late 2024. The account remained open for more than a year, triggering more than a dozen further internal alerts. Binance’s investigators recommended that the accounts be closed and reported to authorities, but the Journal says the accounts remained active.
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Binance Allowed Iranian Funds After Settlement: WSJ
In 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations and paid a record $4.3 billion fine, promising to overhaul its compliance systems. However, according to the Journal, the alleged Iranian fund flows resumed shortly thereafter.
In March, the Journal also reported that the Justice Department is now investigating Iran’s use of Binance to evade sanctions following that guilty plea. Following the report, Binance filed a defamation lawsuit against the publication, seeking damages and a jury trial. The exchange denied knowledge of any DOJ investigation, telling Cointelegraph that it continues to cooperate with regulators and law enforcement.
Outside of Zanjani’s network, the Journal claimed that Iran’s central bank moved $107 million in crypto to Binance accounts in 2025, and a foreign law enforcement agency tracked roughly $260 million in direct transactions between Binance accounts and Iranian terrorist financiers during 2024 and 2025.
“Binance has zero tolerance for illicit activity and has built and operates a best-in-class industry-leading compliance program that continues to grow,” Teng wrote on X.
Related: Binance says AI-powered security has prevented $10 billion in fraud since 2025.
Binance denies suspending Iran’s internal investigation
Another Diary in February report Binance has reportedly suspended an internal investigation into roughly $1 billion flowing through the platform to networks linked to Iranian proxy groups. Binance denied dropping any compliance investigation, saying its internal investigation continued and uncovered a sophisticated pattern of financial activity with multiple jurisdictions across Asia, the Middle East and beyond.
Exchange too published blog post addressing what he called false claims, and separately responded to a Senate inquiry in March, denying that he facilitated transactions with Iranian entities.
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