DOJ Investigating if Iran Used Binance to Evade Sanctions: WSJ
Binance has sued the Wall Street Journal over what it termed "false and defamatory reporting" in the story published Wednesday.
By Stephen GravesMar 11, 2026Mar 11, 20263 min read
In brief
- A report in the Wall Street Journal alleges that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating Iran's use of Binance to evade U.S. sanctions.
- Citing sources familiar with the matter, the WSJ reported that officials are contacting those with knowledge of $1 billion in transactions that allegedly flowed through Binance to Iran-backed terror groups.
- Binance has sued the newspaper over what it termed "false and defamatory reporting" in the story.
The U.S. Justice Department 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 that saw more than $1 billion allegedly flow through the exchange to Iran-backed terror groups, per a previous report in the newspaper. According to the WSJ's reporting, the officials are seeking interviews and gathering evidence, though the paper was unable to determine whether the investigation is targeting Binance itself or customers who used the exchange.
A Binance spokesperson cited in the WSJ story said that the exchange “categorically did not directly transact with any sanctioned entities,” and that it had “uncovered a sophisticated, multijurisdictional pattern of financial activity” in which links to Iran were “only identified and sanctioned after Binance began investigating and taking action in lock step with law enforcement to shut down this network.”
Wednesday's story follows a previous report in the Wall Street Journal alleging that Binance had allowed some $1.7 billion worth of transactions tied to Iranian and Russian sanctions evasion to occur on the platform.
An earlier report by Fortune citing multiple sources and internal documents claimed that Binance had fired members of its compliance team, after evidence was uncovered indicating that Iran-linked entities had received more than $1 billion through the exchange between March 2024 and August 2025.
Binance sues The Wall Street Journal
Binance has responded forcefully to the allegations of a DOJ investigation, filing a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal for "false and defamatory reporting" in its Wednesday story. Last week, Binance denied having violated U.S. sanctions on Iran in a letter sent to U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), who launched a probe 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 reporting, adding that the lawsuit was a "necessary step to defend ourselves against misinformation" and hold the newspaper accountable for "prioritizing clicks over journalistic integrity."
The exchange added that it has built "one of the largest and most robust compliance programs" in the crypto industry, pointing to "measurable improvements" including the freezing of hundreds of millions of dollars linked to illicit activity. It claimed that sanctions-related exposure had declined by 96.8% from January 2024 to July 2025, and that direct exposure to Iran's four major crypto exchanges had dropped by 97.3% between January 2026 and January 2026.
Decrypt has reached out to Binance for comment and will update this article should the exchange respond.
