US EditionBinance Fired Staff Who Flagged $1 Billion Moving to Sanctioned Iran Entities: Report
Five compliance investigators were fired after flagging $1 billion linked to Iran sanctions during Binance's DOJ monitorship, raising concerns of retaliation amid ongoing reforms.
- Five former Binance investigators say they were fired after uncovering more than $1 billion in Iran-linked transactions and reporting them internally before suspension.
- Using on-chain forensics, investigators found $490 million from Hexa Whale and over $1 billion from Blessed Trust flowing to Iranian-linked entities, with people in Iran accessing more than 1,500 Binance accounts over the past year.
- After reporting the findings, some staff were suspended or fired within weeks, while Binance denied firing staff for reporting and cited protocol breaches, CEO Richard Teng and Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman reviewed the case in October.
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal has opened an inquiry after $1.7 billion flowed to Iranian entities and demanded records by March 6; Binance plans to submit a report about Blessed Trust to the Justice Department on Feb. 25, and regulators warn violations or retaliation could jeopardize agreements.
- Binance's 2023 guilty plea and $4.3B fine mean heightened scrutiny despite a 97% drop in sanctions-related volume and ties to World Liberty Financial after founder Changpeng Zhao's October pardon.
34 Articles
34 Articles
Senator Blumenthal Probes Binance After $1 Billion Flowed To Iranian Terrorists
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-NY) has launched an investigation into Binance (CRYPTO: BNB) after $1.7 billion flowed to Iranian terrorists including the Revolutionary Guard Corps, demanding records on why compliance staff who discovered the transfers were fired. The $1.7 Billion Flow Blumenthal wrote to Binance CEO Richard Teng citing Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Fortune reports. Binance compliance staff found two partners—Hexa Whale an…
Senator Opens Binance Probe Into Alleged Iran, Russia Violations
A senior US senator opened an inquiry into crypto exchange Binance Holdings Ltd. following news reports of its involvement in funneling nearly $2 billion to Iranian government groups designated as terrorist organizations and helping to evade US sanctions on Russian oil.
Binance employees who discovered 2.5 trillion won (approximately $2.2 billion USD) had been fired. It has been belatedly confirmed that a massive amount of money, approximately 2.5 trillion won (approximately $2.2 billion USD), flowed from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, to Iran. According to the New York Times on the 23rd (local time), over 1,500 Binance accounts were found to have been stolen from Iran over the past year.
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