Key Insights: Binance News: The DOJ is investigating whether Binance violated U.S. sanctions involving Iran, adding a new compliance issue to the exchange’s long-running U.S. legal history. B
On September 22, 2026, Binance news returned to the forefront in the United States. This followed a Bloomberg report that federal prosecutors are investigating allegations that the crypto exchange violated Iran-related sanctions.
Reuters independently confirmed the report. It said the investigation examined whether Binance could effectively block users in Iran from trading on its platform. The investigation is ongoing and has found no wrongdoing in either report.
This inquiry follows a number of Binance’s previous enforcement actions in the U.S. They include a 2023 Justice Department settlement, a 2024 CFTC settlement, and a 2025 SEC lawsuit.
The situation with Iran has previously drawn attention to Binance’s activities in the United States.
Specifically, in November 2023, the US DOJ (Department of Justice) reported that Binance had admitted to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and to failing to register as a money transmitter.
Binance had to pay a $4.316 billion fine and submit to an independent compliance monitor. It will also have to expand the company’s anti-money-laundering and sanctions-compliance programs.
Binance News Covering Probe Over Iran Sanctions Violations | Source: X
The Department noted that Binance failed to take steps to ensure that users in the United States do not engage in transactions with users in Iran and other restricted countries.
The DOJ reports that over $898 million was traded with U.S. users or U.S. users who are ordinarily resident in Iran from January 2018 to May 2022. This is not a reopening of the 2023 criminal probe; it’s a new investigation.
The latest Binance news also follows a separate Justice Department action announced on September 14.
In a civil forfeiture complaint, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York seeks approximately $61 million in cryptocurrency. It alleges that the funds are proceeds from a handful of black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and petroleum products.
The complaint identified two Chinese companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale. It accused them of being a part of the network. The forfeiture proceeding against Binance did not allege any misconduct.
In an email to the Financial Times, Binance chief executive Richard Teng stated that there was no “misconduct” on its exchange and that the company had “fully cooperated with authorities.”
Teng also said Binance investigates, limits access to accounts, or freezes them if it detects sanctions violations or the risk of money laundering, The Coin Republic reported. The new investigation is unique in that it focuses on Binance’s own compliance with U.S. sanctions requirements.
In 2023, Binance faced two separate actions by the SEC and the CFTC. The SEC filed a lawsuit in June 2023 against Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, alleging 13 charges against them.
In Binance’s case, the regulator charged that Binance was running unregistered exchanges, broker-dealers, and clearing agencies, among other things, in violation of US trading controls.
The CFTC settled separately later in the year. Binance has agreed to pay $1.35 billion in disgorgement and $1.35 billion in penalties, and Zhao agreed to pay $150 million personally.
The SEC’s case went in a different direction. Together with the defendants, the commission filed a joint stipulation for dismissal of the case without prejudice on May 29, 2025. The SEC said the action was taken “as a matter of policy and agency discretion and not necessarily a reflection of the SEC’s stance in other actions.
That distinction remains important in the latest Binance news. The dismissal ended that specific SEC case, but it did not eliminate Binance’s wider U.S. regulatory obligations.
The latest Binance news does not establish that Binance violated Iran sanctions. Bloomberg’s report concerns an investigation, while Reuters said prosecutors are examining whether the exchange adequately prevented Iranian users from trading.
For crypto regulation, the outcome remains unresolved. For Binance news, the investigation adds another chapter to the exchange’s long-running U.S. compliance record without establishing a new violation at this stage.
The post Binance News: Long US Legal History Meets New Iran Sanctions Probe appeared first on The Coin Republic.
