TLDR
- Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, has issued defamation accusations against the Wall Street Journal following their coverage of alleged $1.7 billion transfers to Iranian-linked entities and claims of investigator dismissals.
- Multiple major publications including the WSJ, New York Times, and Fortune have reported on alleged compliance staff terminations related to sanctions violation discoveries.
- The crypto exchange maintains that employees departed voluntarily and internal reviews revealed zero sanctions law violations.
- Senator Richard Blumenthal has initiated a formal congressional inquiry into the alleged sanctions breaches at Binance.
- Changpeng Zhao, former CEO who received a Trump pardon, discussed Binance.US expansion plans at a recent cryptocurrency conference.
On Tuesday, Binance CEO Richard Teng publicly challenged the Wall Street Journal’s credibility following their published report about the cryptocurrency platform allegedly terminating employees who discovered $1 billion in transactions connected to Iran-associated organizations.
Through his X account, Teng characterized the journalism as “inaccurate” while sharing correspondence from Binance’s legal representation at Withers Bergman addressed to WSJ editor-in-chief Emma Tucker. The correspondence demanded complete retraction and prompt correction of claims described as “false and defamatory.”
The Monday publication from the WSJ reported that Binance investigators discovered monetary flows to “a network funding Iran-backed terror groups.” According to their reporting, the exchange subsequently dissolved the investigation and terminated the personnel conducting it.
The New York Times released comparable coverage on the same date, reporting that $1.7 billion moved through two Binance accounts to Iranian organizations with terrorist connections. Fortune magazine had already covered related allegations on February 13, including sanctions violations and employee terminations.
Binance has disputed the accuracy of all three publications. According to a company representative, their internal examination “did not find evidence of violations of applicable sanctions laws or regulations related to the transactions described.”
Company Claims Voluntary Departures by Compliance Team
The exchange asserts that four compliance personnel departed through resignation rather than dismissal. According to Binance, these individuals faced no termination for identifying sanctions-related issues, and suspicious transactions were flagged and reported following established protocols.
“This is evidence that our controls are working, not the opposite,” a Binance spokesperson told CoinDesk.
The WSJ reporting referenced internal Binance documentation and sources with operational knowledge who indicated that behavior patterns similar to those resulting in Binance’s 2023 Department of Justice settlement have persisted at the platform.
The 2023 resolution required Binance to remit $4.3 billion while founder Changpeng Zhao entered a guilty plea to one charge of inadequate Anti-Money Laundering program implementation.
The WSJ further reported that $1.7 billion moved from accounts registered to Chinese Binance clients to Iran-supported organizations, including Houthi militants in Yemen, during 2024 and 2025.
Congressional Investigation Launched by US Senator
On Tuesday evening, Senator Richard Blumenthal forwarded correspondence to Teng initiating formal congressional scrutiny of the allegations. His request included documentation regarding Binance’s interactions with two Hong Kong-based entities that investigators pinpointed as originating sources for transfers to Iran.
Spokesperson Rachel Conlan informed the New York Times that comprehensive findings would reach the US Justice Department by February 25.
In a Sunday blog post, Binance stated that its “sanctions-related exposure is minimal” while characterizing recent media coverage as “distorted” and originating from “disgruntled former employees.”
Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO who obtained presidential clemency from Donald Trump, participated in a cryptocurrency conference last week hosted by Trump-supported World Liberty Financial, where he outlined Binance.US intentions to broaden American market operations.
