Crypto’s biggest exchange fights back against allegations of moving billions of Iran-linked money

CoinDesk

by Olivier Acuna

February 24, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

Crypto exchange giant Binance has fired back against reports by major media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and New York Times, alleging that the platform facilitated transfers of over $1 billion linked to Iran-backed entities. In a letter to the WSJ, Binance’s counsel accused the outlet of publishing “false information” and demanded a retraction. The exchange also took similar action against Fortune earlier this week, sending a similar letter disputing claims about employee terminations tied to compliance concerns. The WSJ report claimed that Binance investigators identified $1 billion in suspicious transactions involving Iran-backed terror groups. It alleged that the crypto exchange terminated employees who flagged these issues, despite internal reviews finding no evidence of sanctions violations. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng criticized the WSJ for “inaccurate reporting” about the company’s compliance program and emphasized that the investigators in question had resigned voluntarily, not been fired for raising concerns. The report also cited additional $1.7 billion transfers from Chinese clients to Iran-linked groups between 2024 and 2025. Both the WSJ and NYT articles claimed that Binance dismantled internal investigations into these transactions after identifying them in early 2023. However, a Binance spokesperson told CoinDesk that suspicious activity was detected and reported to authorities, which they argue demonstrates their compliance controls are functioning properly. The exchange also published a blog post prior to the WSJ’s report, dismissing the allegations as “incomplete” and based on “false claims by disgruntled former employees.” These reports come amid heightened scrutiny of crypto exchanges’ compliance with sanctions laws. Binance has been under investigation for years, including a 2023 settlement with U.S. authorities over money laundering violations. The allegations raise serious questions about the transparency and oversight of one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency

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Originally published on CoinDesk on 2/24/2026