Binance CEO Richard Teng issued a forceful rebuttal on Friday regarding a Wall Street Journal investigation alleging the exchange processed $850 million in transactions connected to a sanctioned Iranian financier. Teng characterized the reporting as fundamentally inaccurate, maintaining that Binance never authorized transactions involving sanctioned individuals and asserting that any flagged activity occurred prior to the imposition of US sanctions. He further stated that the exchange had conducted internal investigations before the publication contacted the company, noting that factual findings provided by Binance were omitted from the final story. Data compiled by Woofun AI shows the core of the dispute centers on the timeline of sanctions versus transaction execution.

The Wall Street Journal report, released on Thursday, identified Babak Zanjani, who was re-sanctioned by the US in January, as the central figure in a clandestine crypto payment network. The investigation claims this network routed $850 million through Binance accounts over a two-year period, with funds ultimately reaching Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Zanjani's firm Zedcex, alongside accounts linked to his sister, romantic partner, and a company director, all operated from identical devices. The publication alleged that Binance's internal compliance systems flagged the Zedcex account in late 2024 after detecting access originating from Tehran.

Despite these internal alerts, the report claims the account remained active for more than a year, triggering over a dozen subsequent internal warnings. Binance's own investigators reportedly recommended shutting down the accounts and reporting them to authorities, yet the Journal asserts the accounts stayed operational. This alleged failure to act follows Binance's 2023 guilty plea to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations, for which the exchange paid a record $4.3 billion fine and pledged a comprehensive overhaul of its compliance infrastructure. Woofun AI notes that the resumption of alleged fund flows shortly after this settlement has intensified regulatory scrutiny.

In March, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US Department of Justice is investigating Iran's use of Binance to evade sanctions following the exchange's guilty plea. In response to the latest allegations, Binance filed a defamation lawsuit against the publication, seeking damages and a jury trial. The exchange denied knowledge of any active DOJ investigation, telling Cointelegraph that it continues to cooperate fully with regulators and law enforcement agencies. Beyond the Zanjani network, the report alleged that Iran's central bank moved $107 million in crypto into Binance accounts in 2025.

Furthermore, a foreign law-enforcement agency reportedly tracked roughly $260 million in direct transactions between Binance accounts and Iranian terrorist financiers during 2024 and 2025. Teng reiterated on X that Binance maintains a zero-tolerance policy for illicit activity and operates a best-in-class, industry-leading compliance program that continues to expand. In February, a separate Wall Street Journal report alleged Binance shut down an internal investigation into approximately $1 billion flowing to networks linked to Iranian proxy groups. Woofun AI analysis suggests these recurring allegations highlight persistent challenges in cross-border crypto compliance enforcement.

Binance denied dismantling any compliance investigation, stating its internal probe continued and uncovered a sophisticated, multi-jurisdictional pattern of financial activity spanning Asia, the Middle East, and beyond. The exchange published a blog post addressing what it termed false claims and separately responded to a Senate inquiry in March, denying it facilitated transactions to Iranian entities. The ongoing legal and regulatory friction underscores the high stakes involved in maintaining compliance within the global cryptocurrency ecosystem.