Binance CEO Denies WSJ $850M Iran Sanctions Report

Binance CEO Richard Teng is directly contesting a Wall Street Journal report that links Iranian financier Babak Zanjani to $850 million in transactions on the exchange. Teng called the characterization misleading in a post on X. He did not provide alternative figures or a timeline.

WSJ’s $850 Million Allegation and Teng’s Denial

The WSJ report claims Zanjani, a U.S.-sanctioned businessman, routed funds through Binance over a period when the exchange had publicly tightened its compliance screening. The $850 million figure is large enough to draw attention from regulators who already fined Binance $4.3 billion in 2023 for anti-money-laundering failures.

Teng’s denial argues that the Journal conflated peer-to-peer trades with exchange activity. The distinction matters because Binance’s peer-to-peer platform operates differently from its spot market and has historically been harder to monitor. If the WSJ sourcing is correct, however, it implies Binance’s internal controls missed flows from a sanctioned entity for years – a pattern that directly contradicts the compliance upgrades Binance has marketed since settling with the DOJ.

Why the Monitor Filing Is the Real Test

This is not Binance’s first Iran-related allegation. Reuters reported in 2022 that Binance allowed Iranian customers despite sanctions; the exchange said it blocked them. The recurrence suggests a structural gap, not a one-off oversight.

Binance remains under a court-appointed monitor as part of its 2023 settlement. A new sanctions breach would violate the terms of that agreement. The monitor’s next report, expected within months, is the first concrete check on whether Teng’s denial matches on-chain data. If the monitor clears Binance on this charge, the exchange gains breathing room. If it confirms flows tied to Zanjani, Teng’s denial will look like a dodge, and regulatory escalation becomes likely.