Manhattan prosecutors and the DOJ’s criminal division are examining whether Binance knowingly allowed sanctioned Iran-linked trading on its platform.
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Binance Holdings Ltd., operator of the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, violated US sanctions on Iran by failing to stop certain trading on its platform, Bloomberg reported.
The Manhattan US attorney’s office is handling the probe of Binance’s compliance efforts, with the Department of Justice‘s (DOJ) criminal division in Washington also involved. Authorities are scrutinising whether the crypto firm knowingly allowed the trading.
The specific transactions under review were not immediately clear, and the investigation could end without charges being filed. There has been no comment from the Justice Department or the Manhattan US attorney’s office.
The crypto company said it maintains a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations. “We fully cooperate with law enforcement, and we remain committed to rooting out and shutting down bad actors,” a company statement read.
Binance already blocked in the EU
The report comes after European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde intervened against Binance’s bid for an EU licence. Lagarde personally asked Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to reject the application under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Greek regulators had all but approved the bid before the intervention, and Binance withdrew its Greek filing in June. The reversal followed months of preparation; Greek officials had told the crypto company its application was complete and CEO Richard Teng had planned a trip to Athens before Lagarde stepped in.
Lagarde cited Binance’s past US compliance problems and the risk that wider dollar-stablecoin use could weaken the ECB’s planned digital euro, as her rationale for intervention. A MiCA licence granted by any one member state passports across all 27, giving access to 450 million EU residents.
The crypto company said it still intends to seek authorisation in the bloc and has approached France’s markets regulator, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).
Iran-linked flows under scrutiny
US prosecutors have brought several Iran-related actions in recent months, which have increased as the US-Israel war with Iran has persisted. The compliance record Lagarde raised with Greek officials now faces a formal US investigation, in which Manhattan-based federal prosecutors sought forfeiture on 14 September of $61m they say came from Iranian black-market oil sales and was laundered through Binance.
The office did not accuse Binance of wrongdoing in that filing, and said two Hong Kong-registered companies had misrepresented their business activities. The crypto company said it did not permit transactions with sanctioned parties and pledged to keep cooperating.
Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to comply with US banking and sanctions laws and agreed to pay $4.3bn, a settlement that placed two corporate monitors on the firm.
Co-founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering programme, stepped down as chief executive and served four months in prison. President Donald Trump pardoned Zhao in 2025.
Binance has since sought to emphasise its cooperation with regulators. Teng, who succeeded Zhao as CEO, has led that push.
The company said in a February blog post that more than 1,500 people, about 25% of its global headcount, work on compliance. A DOJ finding of a knowing sanctions breach would test that record against the 2023 resolution, under which Binance pledged to enhance compliance.
