Legal Clash: Binance Files Defamation Suit Over WSJ Iran Transactions Report

Binance sues Dow Jones over a WSJ report on Iran-linked transactions and rejects claims of sanctions violations.

Binance has entered a legal dispute with The Wall Street Journal after the newspaper reported on alleged Iran-linked transactions involving the exchange. The company argues that the report misrepresented its compliance practices and internal investigations. Binance is also pushing back publicly, addressing what it calls inaccurate claims in a detailed blog post.

Binance Denies Allegations of Sanctions Violations

Crypto Exchange firm Binance has filed a defamation lawsuit against Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, over claims tied to alleged Iran-linked transactions. As per the filing, the newspaper published false statements about how the exchange handled transactions involving Iranian entities.

The company filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on the same day the article appeared. There were claims that Binance allowed $1.7 billion to move to sanctioned Iranian entities and dismissed employees who raised concerns.

However, Binance strongly rejected these allegations. According to the company, those actions followed sanctions laws and internal compliance procedures.

Dugan Bliss, Binance’s Global Head of Litigation, said legal action became necessary to respond to what the firm views as misinformation. In a company blog post, Bliss stated that the lawsuit seeks to hold the newspaper accountable and address reputational damage caused by the report

Exchange Addresses Claims in Blog Post

Alongside the lawsuit, Binance published a detailed blog post on Wednesday responding to the allegations raised in the February report. The exchange said four claims repeated in coverage of the story were inaccurate.

First, the company disputed claims that it moved $1.7 billion to entities sanctioned by Iran. Binance said the funds neither originated nor ended on its platform. According to the company, the transactions passed through several independent intermediaries before any portion reached addresses later linked to Iran.

In addition, Binance rejected claims that compliance staff were dismissed for investigating the transactions. The firm said those employees were not removed for raising concerns or conducting investigations. Instead, their departures related to alleged breaches of internal data protection policies.

The exchange also denied claims that investigations into suspicious transactions were stopped or suppressed. Binance said internal reviews continued and concluded with the removal of accounts involved in suspicious activity.

Finally, Binance disputed claims that investigators lacked access to a customer account known as Blessed Trust. According to the company, investigators received immediate access and those permissions were renewed several times.

Binance stated that the trust placed in the platform by more than 300 million users reflects years of operational work and accountability. The firm added that it will continue strengthening its compliance program and cooperating with law enforcement. It also plans to maintain engagement with regulators and protect users while correcting statements it believes cause reputational harm.

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