Key Takeaways
- The transactions allegedly included transfers to wallets associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
- Leung stated the firm’s work with Binance was limited to routine disbursements including invoices and payroll
World’s largest crypto exchange Binance’s internal compliance team identified substantial transaction flows connecting the crypto exchange to Iranian entities during 2024 and 2025, as per reports published Monday by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, raising fresh scrutiny over the platform’s sanctions compliance procedures.
Binance investigators discovered that over 1,500 accounts on the platform had been accessed from Iran, with around USD 1.7 billion flowing from two specific Binance accounts to Iran-linked entities, the New York Times reported. The transactions allegedly included transfers to wallets associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
One account belonged to Blessed Trust, a Hong Kong payments firm that operated as a fiat currency partner for Binance. Probe also presented their findings to senior leadership including CEO Richard Teng and Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman, according to the Times.
Leung Ka Kui, a director at Blessed Trust, told them that his company did not knowingly facilitate sanctions-breaching transactions or process payments to Iranian entities.
Leung stated the firm’s work with Binance was limited to routine disbursements including invoices and payroll. Blessed Trust could not immediately be reached for additional comment.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the internal probe identified a second Hong Kong entity, Hexa Whale Trading, which allegedly moved approximately USD500 million in USDT stablecoin to the same Iranian network.
Probe also concluded the funds ultimately supported Iran-backed groups including Yemen’s Houthi militants, according to documents cited by both publications. The compliance team’s findings indicated these transaction patterns occurred throughout 2024 and into early 2025.
The situation took a controversial turn when several investigators who flagged the Iranian connections faced disciplinary action.
At least four investigators were suspended or dismissed in 2025 after presenting their findings, with Binance citing alleged protocol violations related to handling confidential client data, the New York Times reported.
Fortune previously claimed that investigators who identified more than $1 billion in transactions linked to Iranian counterparties primarily involving Tether’s USDT on the Tron blockchain over an 18-month period were terminated.
The report also indicated that at least four senior compliance employees departed the company or were pushed out during the final three months of the review period.
The Wall Street Journal reported that executives dismantled the probe weeks after Binance founder Changpeng Zhao received a US presidential pardon in October. The timing raised questions about whether external political developments influenced internal compliance decisions at the exchange.
Meanwhile, the crypto exchange Binance denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the company did not violate sanctions laws and rejecting claims that staff faced punishment for raising compliance concerns. The exchange has not provided detailed explanations for the investigator dismissals beyond citing data handling protocol violations.
Separately, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic had noted in January that wallets connected to the Central Bank of Iran had accumulated over $500 million in USDT.
