Binance Accused of Allowing $61M in Illicit Iranian Oil Proceeds to be Laundered
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Binance, alleging that approximately $61 million worth of cryptocurrency was laundered through the exchange by two China-based companies.
The funds in question are believed to represent a portion of the proceeds from the illicit sale of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products, which were then used to finance the Iranian government and entities affiliated with the Iranian military, including the IRGC.
According to US authorities, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, two companies that presented themselves as asset management and commodities brokerage firms respectively, used trading accounts on Binance to help launder proceeds from the sale of Iranian oil.
The investigation alleges that a group of interconnected personal cryptocurrency addresses received and distributed over $1.5 billion in funds derived from the illicit sale of Iranian oil, with transfers made to money handling companies linked to the IRGC, other cryptocurrency addresses, and an Iran-based cryptocurrency exchange.