Binance CEO Accuses WSJ of Defamation Over Iran Sanctions Report

TLDR

• Binance CEO Richard Teng accused the Wall Street Journal of defamation over a report claiming the exchange fired investigators who found $1.7 billion flowing to Iranian entities.
• The WSJ, New York Times, and Fortune all published similar reports alleging Binance fired or suspended compliance staff who flagged sanctions violations.
• Binance says the employees resigned and were not fired for raising compliance concerns, and an internal review found no sanctions violations.
• US Senator Richard Blumenthal opened an inquiry into Binance over the alleged sanctions violations.
• Former CEO Changpeng Zhao, recently pardoned by Trump, spoke at a crypto forum and said Binance.US aims to expand US operations.

Binance CEO Richard Teng publicly accused the Wall Street Journal of defamation on Tuesday after the newspaper published a report claiming the crypto exchange fired employees who flagged $1 billion in transfers to Iran-linked groups.

The WSJ article, published Monday, alleged that Binance investigators identified funds moving to “a network funding Iran-backed terror groups.” It said the exchange then dismantled the investigation and fired the staff involved.

The New York Times published a similar report the same day, claiming $1.7 billion had flowed from two Binance accounts to Iranian entities linked to terrorist groups. Fortune had published a related story on February 13, also alleging sanctions violations and employee dismissals.

Binance pushed back on all three reports. A company spokesperson said an internal review “did not find evidence of violations of applicable sanctions laws or regulations related to the transactions described.”

Binance Says Investigators Resigned, Not Fired

Binance maintains the four compliance workers in question resigned voluntarily. The company says they were not dismissed for raising sanctions concerns, and that suspicious activity was detected and reported through proper channels.

The WSJ report, however, cited Binance documents and people familiar with company operations who said the same conduct that led to Binance’s 2023 Department of Justice settlement has continued at the exchange.

That 2023 settlement saw Binance pay $4.3 billion and founder Changpeng Zhao plead guilty to one count of failing to implement an effective Anti-Money Laundering program.

The WSJ also alleged that $1.7 billion was transferred from Binance-registered Chinese clients to Iran-backed groups, including Yemen’s Houthi militants, in 2024 and 2025.

Senator Opens Formal Inquiry Into Binance

Late Tuesday, US Senator Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to Teng opening a formal inquiry into the allegations. He requested records related to Binance’s dealings with two Hong Kong entities that investigators identified as the source of transfers to Iran.

Spokesperson Rachel Conlan told the New York Times that a full report would be sent to the US Justice Department on February 25.

Former CEO Changpeng Zhao, who received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, spoke at a crypto forum last week organized by Trump-backed World Liberty Financial, where he said Binance.US aims to expand its US business.

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