$61M in Crypto Funds Seized from Binance as Part of Iran Oil Laundering Scheme
US prosecutors are seeking to forfeit $61 million in cryptocurrency funds allegedly laundered through Binance as part of a scheme involving Iranian black-market oil sales. The Justice Department claims that over $1.5 billion was illicitly laundered, with two Chinese entities using trading accounts on Binance to funnel the proceeds to Iran.
The entities, Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited, presented themselves as a wealth management firm and commodities broker, respectively. They allegedly used the US financial system to send and receive tens of millions of dollars as part of the scheme.
Binance has stated that it did not permit transactions with sanctioned individuals and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement on this matter. The cryptocurrency exchange's controls were under scrutiny in 2023, when the Justice Department charged Binance and its co-founder for violating anti-money laundering rules.