Cryptocurrency giant Binance is once again defending its compliance record against heavy media accusations. CEO Richard Teng has strongly pushed back against a recent Wall Street Journal investigation that claims the crypto exchange processed $850 million in transactions connected to a sanctioned Iranian financier. According to the publication, these funds ultimately made their way to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Unpacking the Wall Street Journal Allegations
The Wall Street Journal’s explosive report places Babak Zanjani, an Iranian financier who was re-sanctioned by the United States in January, at the center of a covert cryptocurrency payment network. The publication alleges that Zanjani’s firm, Zedcex, along with accounts managed by his family and associates, successfully moved $850 million through Binance over a two-year period using shared devices.
What makes the allegations particularly striking is the claim that Binance’s internal compliance systems actually flagged the Zedcex account after detecting logins from Tehran in late 2024. Despite generating over a dozen internal alerts and prompting Binance’s own investigators to recommend closing the accounts, the WSJ asserts that the profiles remained active for more than a year.
The report’s claims extend beyond Zanjani’s immediate network. The publication alleges that Iran’s central bank funneled $107 million through the exchange in 2025. Additionally, it states that foreign law enforcement tracked roughly $260 million moving directly between Binance accounts and Iranian terrorist financiers throughout 2024 and 2025. If true, these accusations would suggest that illicit financial flows continued even after Binance’s historic 2023 settlement, where the company paid a record $4.3 billion fine and promised a comprehensive overhaul of its anti-money laundering protocols.
Binance Fights Back Against the Claims
Binance is not taking these accusations lightly. Taking to X, CEO Richard Teng labeled the reporting as fundamentally inaccurate. He firmly stated that Binance maintains a zero-tolerance policy for illicit activity and never knowingly permitted transactions involving sanctioned individuals. According to Teng, any flagged account activity occurred well before those specific individuals were officially placed under US sanctions.
Teng also expressed frustration with the journalistic process behind the article. He noted that Binance had already thoroughly investigated these issues internally before the WSJ ever reached out, and claimed that crucial factual evidence the company provided was intentionally excluded from the final story. He emphasized that the exchange currently operates an industry-leading compliance program that continues to evolve and improve.
This latest public clash is just one battle in a growing legal and public relations feud between the cryptocurrency exchange and the media outlet. Earlier this year, Binance filed a defamation lawsuit against the WSJ following a March report claiming the Justice Department was investigating the exchange over ongoing sanctions evasion. Furthermore, Binance recently had to dispel separate WSJ claims from February that suggested the company had intentionally shut down an internal probe into $1 billion linked to Iranian proxy groups. Through public blog posts, responses to Senate inquiries, and ongoing cooperation with regulators, Binance continues to vehemently deny that it serves as a financial conduit for sanctioned Iranian entities.
