Overview
- Reporters disclosed on Tuesday that federal prosecutors in Manhattan, joined by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, are investigating whether Binance knowingly permitted trading that violated U.S. sanctions on Iran.
- A separate civil forfeiture filed on September 14 seeks about $61 million in USDT tied to alleged black‑market Iranian oil proceeds and names two Hong Kong‑linked firms, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, as intermediaries.
- Prosecutors say the $61 million is part of a wider alleged laundering operation that moved roughly $1.5 billion through crypto addresses and trading activity, though those broader allegations remain unproven in court.
- Binance says it was not named as a defendant in the forfeiture, denies wrongdoing, says it is cooperating with law enforcement, and points to its 2023 guilty plea, $4.3 billion settlement, and new compliance measures as context.
- The inquiry will examine whether the exchange’s post‑settlement controls, on‑chain tracing and issuer actions such as stablecoin freezes worked in practice and could prompt further enforcement, congressional oversight, or additional asset seizures.