"In 2023, the crypto exchange Binance pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering and know-your-customer laws as well as sanctions violations. The company agreed to pay $4.3 billion, one of the largest corporate fines in U.S. history. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to failing to implement proper oversight, and was later sentenced to four months in prison. In response, Zhao agreed to step down as CEO at Binance and the company consented to government-imposed monitorships, pledging to enter a new phase of "regulatory maturity.""
"Binance, however, appears to be reneging on its promise. According to multiple sources and internal documents viewed by Fortune, investigators on the company's compliance team uncovered evidence that entities tied to Iran had received more than $1 billion through the exchange from March 2024 through August 2025, in potential violation of sanctions laws. The transactions routed through Binance using the stablecoin Tether on a blockchain known as Tron."
"After the investigators surfaced the findings through internal reports, at least five were fired starting in late 2025, according to the sources, who spoke with Fortune on the condition of anonymity due to fear of legal repercussions. At least three of the investigators came from law enforcement backgrounds in Europe and Asia. Several held leadership roles at Binance and were in charge of special and global financial investigations, including those related to sanction evasions and counter-terror financing."
In 2023 Binance pleaded guilty to anti-money-laundering, know-your-customer, and sanctions violations and agreed to pay $4.3 billion; founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to implement proper oversight, was sentenced to four months, and agreed to step down while the company accepted government monitorships. Investigators later uncovered evidence that entities tied to Iran received more than $1 billion through the exchange between March 2024 and August 2025, routed via the stablecoin Tether on the Tron blockchain. After those findings reached internal reports, at least five investigators were fired starting in late 2025; several compliance leaders and at least four top compliance staff have since left or been pushed out. Some departing staff announced exits publicly and declined to comment; exact reasons for the firings remain unclear.
Read at Fortune
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