The US Department of Justice is reportedly investigating Iran’s use of Binance to evade sanctions, according to a report published Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the WSJ reports that officials have contacted people with knowledge of transactions in which more than $1 billion allegedly flowed through the exchange to Iranian-backed terrorist groups, according to a previous report by the newspaper. According to the WSJAccording to the report, officials are seeking interviews and gathering evidence, although the newspaper could not determine whether the investigation is aimed at Binance or customers who used the exchange.
A Binance spokesperson quoted in the WSJ The story said that the exchange “categorically did not transact directly with any sanctioned entities” and that it had “uncovered a sophisticated, multi-jurisdictional pattern of financial activity” in which links to Iran “were only identified and sanctioned after Binance began investigating and taking joint action with authorities to shut down this network.”
Wednesday’s story follows an earlier report in the Wall Street Journal alleging that Binance had allowed transactions worth about $1.7 billion linked to the evasion of Iranian and Russian sanctions to occur on the platform.
A previous report from Fortune Citing multiple sources and internal documents, it claimed that Binance had fired members of its compliance team, after evidence was discovered indicating that Iran-linked entities had received more than $1 billion through the exchange between March 2024 and August 2025.
Binance has strongly responded to allegations of a Justice Department investigation, filing a lawsuit against the financial world Diary for “false and defamatory reporting” in his article on Wednesday. Last week, Binance denied violating US sanctions on Iran in a letter sent to US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who launched an investigation into the exchange following media reports of alleged violations.
In a press release, Binance’s global head of litigation, Dugan Bliss, alleged “significant reputational harm and business consequences” resulting from the WSJ‘s, adding that the lawsuit was a “necessary step to defend ourselves against misinformation” and hold the newspaper accountable for “prioritizing clicks over journalistic integrity.”
Binance denies $1.7 billion in Iran sanctions violations amid US Senate investigation
The exchange added that it has created “one of the largest and most robust compliance programs” in the crypto industry, noting “measurable improvements,” including freezing hundreds of millions of dollars linked to illicit activities. It stated that sanctions-related exposure had decreased by 96.8% from January 2024 to July 2025, and that direct exposure to Iran’s top four crypto exchanges had decreased by 97.3% between January 2026 and January 2026.
Decipher has reached out to Binance for comment and will update this article if the exchange responds.