Binance Leadership Rejects Allegations of $1.7B in Transfers to Iranian Entities

Binance co-CEO Richard Teng and Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman have issued a video statement categorically rejecting accusations by major Western outlets that the exchange processed $1.7 billion in transfers to Iran-linked accounts and terminated employees who raised the concerns.

Binance Management Pushes Back

Reports by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune described a scheme in which internal investigators at Binance uncovered approximately $1.7 billion in suspicious transfers directed to Iran-connected accounts — and were subsequently fired.

Teng characterized the media coverage as "irresponsible," calling the suggestion that Binance showed "reckless indifference" toward sanctions obligations "simply false and misleading."

Perlman cited 2025 figures: the exchange responded to over 71,000 law enforcement requests and assisted in the seizure of more than $130 million. Sanctions-related risks on the platform, he said, had decreased by 97% over 18 months.

On the subject of terminations, Perlman stated that no one at Binance has ever been fired for raising compliance concerns. He said the dismissals referenced in the media were tied to violations of internal company policy, not the substance of investigative findings.

Perlman further argued that an internal review found no evidence that users transacted with sanctioned individuals or wallets at the time of the activity. The end recipients' wallets were designated as sanctioned only after the activity had ceased.

Teng also sent a legal letter to WSJ demanding that the publication retract its claims.

"Recently there has been inaccurate reporting about our compliance program. The Wall Street Journal published defamatory claims, and despite our efforts to set the record straight, the journalist failed to acknowledge any of our corrections on the allegations. We have sent the…" — Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng), original post

What the Media Investigations Found

On February 23, the NYT published an investigation reporting that Binance's compliance team identified two channels of fund flows to Iranian entities in mid-2025.

The first involved a Hong Kong-registered company called Hexa Whale Trading Limited. Some $490 million passed through its Binance account and was directed to crypto wallets associated with Iranian organizations. Israeli law enforcement informed Binance investigators that Hexa Whale had funded terrorist groups.

The second channel involved Blessed Trust, also registered in Hong Kong. The firm served as a fiat partner of Binance and provided payment services. According to documents, $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency was transferred from the Blessed Trust account to Iran-linked entities. Investigators traced connections to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), designated a terrorist organization by multiple countries.

According to the NYT, after investigators presented their findings to management in November 2025, two of them were suspended. Their replacements also lost their positions within days. Fortune first reported the firings on February 13, noting that at least five employees had been dismissed.

Binance's Response and Next Steps

Binance spokesperson Rachel Conlan said the company had taken action: accounts tied to the Iranian transactions were removed and relevant authorities were notified. According to Conlan, an internal review found no sanctions violations, and the employee terminations were related to "unauthorized disclosure of confidential client information."

The partnership with Blessed Trust was terminated in January 2026. Binance forwarded information about the company to the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI, and prepared a report for the U.S. Department of Justice. Blessed Trust director Leung Ka Kui stated that the company did not facilitate transactions in violation of sanctions and made no payments to Iranian organizations.

On February 24, Senator Richard Blumenthal sent Teng a letter demanding that the following be provided by March 6:

• Records on the activities of Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust;
• Internal investigator reports;
• Data on the dismissals of compliance staff.

Why This Matters

The allegations strike at the heart of a central question for the crypto industry: whether major centralized exchanges can effectively enforce international sanctions. Binance already pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating sanctions and anti-money laundering laws, and subsequently pledged a sweeping overhaul of its compliance infrastructure. Teng emphasized that "extraordinary resources" had been devoted to that effort. The latest wave of reporting now puts the credibility of those reforms under scrutiny. Senator Blumenthal's formal request signals potential for heightened Congressional oversight.

In January, Binance published an annual report claiming a 96% reduction in illicit transaction volume since 2023 and the processing of over 71,000 law enforcement requests.