$1.5B in Sanctioned Oil Proceeds Laundered Through Binance

The US Department of Justice has seized and is seeking to forfeit $61 million in cryptocurrency that it alleges came from black-market sales of sanctioned Iranian oil. This sum is a fraction of an operation described in a civil forfeiture complaint, where more than $1.5 billion in oil proceeds was laundered through Binance by Chinese companies Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited.

The funds were allegedly laundered via trading accounts at Binance and then funneled to the Iranian government, its agents, and proxies. Deputy US Attorney Sean S. Buckley stated that 'the Government of Iran relies on black-market sales of sanctioned crude oil to fund its military and foster terrorism in the Middle East and around the world.'

The complaint alleges that two China-based firms used Binance to launder proceeds and funnel them to the Iranian government and its proxies, highlighting the use of cryptocurrency to bypass sanctions.