US prosecutors probe Binance over Iran sanctions violations

U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating whether cryptocurrency exchange Binance knowingly allowed trades that violated sanctions targeting Iran, according to a report published on September 22. The probe, led by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office with participation from the Justice Department's Criminal Division, is examining Binance's compliance controls and whether the exchange was aware of the transactions under review.

The investigation comes nearly three years after Binance pleaded guilty in November 2023 to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and agreed to pay $4.316 billion in penalties. That settlement required the company to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years and improve its anti-money laundering and sanctions systems.

A separate civil forfeiture case filed on September 14 by the Southern District of New York targets approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency allegedly tied to Iranian blackmarket oil sales. The complaint seeks all USDT held in 10 cryptocurrency addresses, alleging the funds represent proceeds from illicit oil and petroleum sales intended to finance Iranian government and military bodies, including the Islamic Revolutionary...