Binance Denies $1B Sanctions Breach Claims Amid Fresh Compliance Scrutiny

• A report from Fortune claims Binance fired at least five members of its compliance team after they flagged over $1 billion in sanctioned transactions.
• CZ, Richard Teng, and Yi He have all condemned the report, denying any sanctions breach at the exchange; CZ says the sources were paid to spread FUD.

Binance fired at least five employees from its compliance and internal investigations teams after they flagged over $1 billion in transactions conducted by sanctioned parties from Iran, Fortune reports.

In its exposé, the outlet claimed to have talked to some of the fired employees and reviewed some private documents implicating the exchange’s leadership in the scandal. The sources say the compliance team discovered that the exchange had facilitated transactions worth over $1 billion by Iranian entities between March 2024 and August last year. The transactions were reportedly conducted via Tether’s USDT stablecoin on the Tron network.

The team then presented their findings to the top brass through the internal pipeline, but shortly after, they were fired. Some of the employees held senior roles on the exchange’s division that oversees compliance with sanctions evasion and counter-terrorism financing laws. Three had left their positions in law enforcement authorities in Europe and Asia to join the exchange.

It’s not Binance’s first brush with the law. Former CEO and co-founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison, and the exchange had to pay $4 billion in penalties after it was found guilty of violating sanctions and breaching anti-money laundering laws. The conviction also forced CZ to step down from his CEO role, which is now shared by Richard Teng and co-founder Yi He.

CZ: Sources ‘Paid to FUD’ Against Binance

When asked about the allegations, the exchange gave a diplomatic response that neither denied nor confirmed the accusations. A spokesperson said that it cannot comment on personnel cases, and it will dismiss any employee who breaches company policy.

“As a matter of policy, we cannot comment on ongoing investigations. Binance is committed to complying with all applicable sanctions laws and regulations in the markets where it operates,” he added.

The leadership wasn’t as reserved. CZ said that the article contained self-contradicting information and that the staff members could have been fired for failing to prevent the sanction violations, not for disclosing them to management.  He questioned the authenticity of the anonymous sources, speculating that they could have been ‘paid to FUD.’

Teng’s remarks were even more scathing, stating:

He claims that the compliance team self-reported the sanctions breaches to the authorities and cooperated with them during investigations.

Yi He reiterated this view, claiming that the exchange has been proactively initiating investigations and sharing findings with law enforcement. She attributed the staff firings to the exchange’s effort to upgrade its talent.