Binance Rocked by Internal Purge Allegations… "Fired After Detecting $1 Billion Iran Transaction"

▲ Iran, Binance, Bitcoin (BTC), Virtual Assets / ChatGPT-generated image

Binance is facing a severe backlash amid allegations that it dismissed a large number of internal investigators who raised the possibility of sanctions violations related to Iran.

According to a February 14 report by cryptocurrency media outlet Bitcoinist, members of the compliance team at Binance, the world’s largest virtual asset exchange, detected and reported more than $1 billion in illicit transactions linked to Iran, but many of them were subsequently fired. The incident, first reported exclusively by Fortune, has heightened concerns about the effectiveness of Binance’s internal control systems as it unfolded while the exchange remains under U.S. government scrutiny. Internal documents indicate that Iran-linked entities moved funds using Tron-based USDT from the first quarter of 2024 through the third quarter of 2025.

Binance began dismissing five investigators who reported their findings through official internal channels starting in late 2025. Among those terminated were experts with investigative backgrounds from Europe and Asia, including three senior officials responsible for special investigations and global financial crime response. Additionally, over the past three months, four senior compliance managers have either resigned or been forced out, signaling significant instability within the organization.

Robert Appleton, a former U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney who led Iran sanctions cases, expressed shock that such events occurred under a government monitoring regime. He described the firing of internal investigators during a period of strict federal oversight as highly unusual and alarming. In 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering regulations, paid a substantial fine, and pledged to strengthen its internal controls.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao stated that he was not aware of the specific details of the report but questioned the validity of the allegations. Zhao suggested that even if the reported transactions were factual, the investigators may have been dismissed for failing to block the transactions in advance, defending the exchange’s position. He also criticized the report for relying on anonymous sources, arguing that it appeared aimed at fostering negative public sentiment toward the exchange.

Amid growing market uncertainty, Binance’s native token BNB has experienced heightened volatility and is trading around $615. As U.S. regulatory scrutiny continues, the mass dismissal of internal investigators has exposed Binance to new regulatory risks. The company has yet to issue an official statement and is monitoring the situation.

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