New Binance Investigation in U.S.: Were Iran Transactions Deliberately Allowed?

According to a Bloomberg report, U.S. prosecutors are investigating whether Binance violated sanctions by knowingly allowing certain transactions linked to Iran.

In the Bloomberg report cited by Wu Blockchain, the investigation into the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is being conducted by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office. According to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter, the investigation is focused on how certain transactions passed through the exchange’s controls and whether Binance was aware of them.

What are prosecutors investigating?

The key distinction in the investigation is not simply whether transactions linked to Iran took place, but whether Binance knowingly allowed those transactions to continue. Prosecutors are therefore said to be focusing on the exchange’s compliance controls, the mechanisms used to monitor whether transactions comply with sanctions rules.

The development reported by the source concerns an investigation; it does not present a final determination that Binance committed a new sanctions violation. The amount of the transactions and the possible outcome of the investigation were also not disclosed in the reported news.

New investigation after 4,3 billion dollar agreement

In 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to charges related to anti-money-laundering violations, unlicensed money transmission, and sanctions violations, and reached an agreement with U.S. authorities involving a payment of approximately 4,3 billion dollars.

The new report brings the exchange’s sanctions compliance mechanisms back into focus following that history. However, the 4,3 billion dollar amount is not a new penalty announced for the current investigation; it belongs to the 2023 agreement.