The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly investigating whether Iran used the Binance cryptocurrency exchange to evade American sanctions. A news report, citing sources, claims officials are examining over $1 billion in alleged transactions that flowed through the platform to Iran-backed groups. Binance has denied wrongdoing and has sued the publication over a related story, calling it false and defamatory.
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Iran’s use of Binance to evade sanctions, according to a report citing sources familiar with the matter. Officials are reportedly contacting people with knowledge of more than $1 billion in transactions that allegedly flowed through the exchange to Iran-backed terror groups.
A Binance spokesperson said the exchange “categorically did not directly transact with any sanctioned entities.” The spokesperson stated a sophisticated financial network was uncovered and that links to Iran were only identified after Binance began investigating alongside law enforcement.
This follows an earlier report alleging Binance had allowed roughly $1.7 billion in transactions tied to Iranian and Russian sanctions evasion. Another report claimed Binance fired compliance team members after evidence indicated Iran-linked entities received over $1 billion through the exchange between March 2024 and August 2025.
Binance has filed a lawsuit for what it termed “false and defamatory reporting.” The exchange’s Global Head of Litigation alleged significant reputational harm from the reporting, stating the lawsuit was a necessary step to defend against misinformation.
The exchange claims to have built one of the largest compliance programs in crypto, citing a 96.8% decline in sanctions-related exposure from January 2024 to July 2025. It also stated that direct exposure to Iran’s major crypto exchanges dropped by 97.3% between January 2026 and January 2026.
