Binance Under DOJ Probe for Possible Iran Sanctions Violation: WSJ

Binance officially denied the allegations a few days ago and is also reported to have sued the WSJ for defamation over an article published on February 23.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the Department of Justice has begun an investigation into whether Iran, which is currently in an all-out war with the United States, used the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange to evade U.S. sanctions.

The investigation comes weeks after several Democratic US senators, led by Richard Blumenthal, called on the DOJ and the Treasury to review any possible moves on Binance from wallets linked to Iran.

The WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that officials had contacted people with knowledge of the Iran deal to interview them and gather evidence.

However, the publication said it “could not determine whether the Department of Justice is investigating Binance itself for alleged misconduct or only its platform’s customers.”

As reported over the weekend, Binance has officially denied the US senators’ allegations, calling the media reports cited by the Senate “false, unsupported and defamatory allegations.”

The company explained that it employs a robust compliance program with more than 1,500 professionals worldwide and advanced monitoring tools designed to detect suspicious activity.

It stated that its exposure to wallets associated with any illegal activity has decreased by approximately 97% since the beginning of 2024. However, he admitted that “zero risk is impossible on public blockchains, but relies on strong monitoring and controls to minimize and mitigate risks.”

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Attacks between the US and Israel on the one hand and Iran on the other have brought crypto back into the limelight, at least somewhat. Reports emerging in the first hours and days after the attacks began indicate that crypto withdrawals have increased by triple-digit percentages and that overall activity on Iran-related chains has risen to unprecedented highs.

UPDATE: Additional reports have since surfaced that the exchange has taken action against the WSJ, suing it for defamation over the original article from late February.