Binance Responds to WSJ Iran Sanctions Investigation: Relevant Accounts Frozen and Offboarded, Total Transaction Volume Does Not Equal Funds Flowing to the Revolutionary Guard

BlockBeats news, October 10 — According to a WSJ report, based on an internal report Binance submitted to the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit in April of this year, a network linked to Iranian financier Babak Zanjani conducted transactions through 21 personal and corporate accounts on Binance, with cumulative trading volume of approximately $850 million, of which at least $67 million flowed from two accounts to wallets linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

In response to the report, Binance said it had identified the relevant activity months ago and taken action, and that all accounts linked to sanctions violations had their trading restricted and were subsequently offboarded. Binance also emphasized that equating total account trading volume with funds actually flowing to the IRGC is misleading, and said it is continuously strengthening compliance controls and cooperating with global law enforcement investigations. Regarding approval requirements and execution delays in historical processes, Binance said it has taken corresponding measures.

The report also mentioned that the relevant accounts had drawn attention from U.S. and other countries' law enforcement agencies, and that some affiliated companies and individuals had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department. However, the total transaction amount listed in the report does not mean that all funds flowed to the IRGC, and the relevant fund flows and account affiliations still need to be viewed with distinction.