Binance fired several compliance officers earlier this year, setting the stage for today's US Justice Department investigation

BlockBeats News, March 11th, today the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into Iran's use of Binance to evade sanctions. The incident stemmed from a disclosure made by Fortune magazine in February this year, and at that time, Binance had dismissed multiple compliance investigators. Internal documents show that these investigators had previously reported within the company that entities linked to Iran had received over $1 billion in funds through Binance from March 2024 to August 2025. The transactions in question used the stablecoin Tether (USDT) and settled on the Tron network, potentially violating U.S. sanctions. Fortune reported that at least five investigators have been gradually dismissed since the end of 2025, with many of them having law enforcement backgrounds in Europe and Asia and being responsible for global financial crime and sanctions evasion-related investigations. In addition to the above personnel, at least four senior compliance staff have resigned or been forced to leave in the past three months.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao responded to the relevant compliance questions on February 25th: Binance helps investigate complex off-chain transfers, which precisely demonstrates high compliance standards.

As early as 2023, Binance had reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice for violating anti-money laundering and sanction regulations, paying a $4.3 billion fine. Founder CZ pleaded guilty and resigned as CEO, later being sentenced to four months in prison. The company subsequently entered a period of government regulatory oversight and pledged to strengthen its compliance system.