Binance reportedly faces U.S. probe into alleged Iran sanctions activity

U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating whether Binance violated sanctions on Iran by not halting specific trading activities on its platform, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan is responsible for the investigation into the compliance efforts of the world’s largest crypto exchange, according to the people, who asked not to be identified. The Justice Department’s criminal division in Washington, D.C., is collaborating on the investigation. One person said the inquiry is aimed at determining whether Binance allowed trading to continue despite knowing that it violated sanctions laws. The inquiry follows Binance’s 2023 guilty plea to banking compliance violations, when it agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines. A Binance spokesperson said by email that the company maintains a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations, fully cooperates with law enforcement and remains committed to identifying and shutting down bad actors. The Justice Department and the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for comment.