- Iranian sanctions-evader Babak Zanjani moved $850 million through Binance via a single account over two years; Binance’s own compliance reports flagged it over a dozen times — yet it remained open for 15+ months after the first alert and was still active as of January 2026.
- Foreign law-enforcement officials say money continued flowing through Binance to Iranian regime-linked entities as recently as this month, with $107 million linked to Iran’s central bank and $260 million in direct transactions to IRGC-affiliated wallets in 2024-25.
- The flows persisted even after Binance’s 2023 guilty plea, $4.3 billion fine, and agreement to federal monitoring — with compliance executives who raised alarms internally subsequently leaving the company.
- Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was pardoned by Trump in October 2025; Binance has backed the Trump family’s crypto venture World Liberty Financial, which has earned the Trumps at least $1.2 billion since 2024.
What Happened?
A Wall Street Journal investigation based on internal Binance compliance reports, blockchain data, foreign law-enforcement records, and nonpublic documents reveals that billions in crypto transactions flowed through Binance to networks financing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — the military force at war with the U.S. At the center of one network was Babak Zanjani, a self-described “antisanction operator” who moved $850 million through Binance via his crypto firm Zedcex in 2024-25. Binance’s own investigators flagged the account over a dozen times, noting device access from Tehran and connections to IRGC-linked wallets — yet it remained open for at least 15 months after the first alert. Iran’s central bank separately moved approximately $107 million through transactions that reached Binance accounts. Foreign law enforcement officials told the Journal they tracked Iranian regime-linked money through Binance as recently as this month. When blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs asked Binance in January to jointly investigate Iranian central bank funds and share findings with U.S. authorities, Binance declined.
Why It Matters?
The timing is explosive: the U.S. is at war with Iran and running “Economic Fury” operations to cut off IRGC financing — while the world’s largest crypto exchange, whose founder was pardoned by Trump eight months ago and whose platform backs the Trump family’s crypto venture, appears to have served as a primary financial conduit for the regime’s military funding. The 2023 guilty plea, $4.3 billion fine, and federal monitorship were supposed to fix the problem. The internal compliance reports and ongoing law-enforcement tracking suggest they did not. Treasury has now warned financial institutions they are “on notice” if they facilitate Iranian money transfers — a warning that directly implicates the conduct described in this investigation. Binance disputes the reporting and has sued the Journal; the Journal says it stands by its reporting.
What’s Next?
The Justice Department is already investigating Iran’s use of Binance to evade sanctions following the 2023 plea. Treasury officials met with Binance executives in March over monitorship compliance concerns. This investigation will intensify pressure on both fronts. The political dimension is acute: any serious enforcement action implicates the Trump family’s financial relationship with Binance and the presidential pardon of its founder. Congress will also face pressure — the Senate Banking Committee, which just advanced the Clarity Act crypto bill, must now address whether the regulatory framework being built is adequate to prevent sanctions evasion at this scale.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
