Binance fired at least five compliance investigators who had internally flagged more than $1 billion in USDT transactions tied to Iranian entities.
According to a Fortune investigation, the terminations began in late 2025 - less than two years after Binance paid $4.3 billion to settle federal money laundering and sanctions violations.
The report raises pointed questions about the exchange's compliance commitments, which were central to its 2023 plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
What Fortune Found
Internal documents and sources cited by Fortune showed that the flagged transactions moved through Binance between March 2024 and August 2025, settled in Tether's USDT stablecoin on the Tron (TRX) blockchain.
If confirmed, the flows would constitute potential violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
At least three of the fired investigators had law enforcement backgrounds in Europe and Asia. Several held leadership roles overseeing global financial crime probes, including sanctions evasion and counter-terror financing cases.
At least four additional senior compliance employees have resigned or been pushed out over the past three months, according to the same report.
A Binance spokesperson told Fortune the company cannot comment on ongoing investigations but reaffirmed its commitment to global sanctions compliance.
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The 2023 Settlement
The firings come against the backdrop of Binance's landmark DOJ settlement in November 2023.
Prosecutors at the time accused the exchange of processing more than $1 billion in transactions with sanctioned countries including Iran, Cuba, and Syria.
Founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering failures, stepped down as chief executive officer, and served four months in prison.
The company pledged to overhaul its compliance apparatus and entered regulatory oversight.
In November 2024, Binance announced plans to expand its full-time compliance staff by 34% to 645 employees.
Why It Matters
The timing complicates the narrative. President Donald Trump pardoned Zhao in October 2025, weeks after Binance assisted the Trump family's crypto venture World Liberty Financial (WLFI) in launching a stablecoin.
A separate Financial Times investigation in December 2025 had already found that suspicious accounts continued operating on Binance after the 2023 settlement, including one that processed $93 million linked to networks moving funds for Iran and Hezbollah.
Robert Appleton, a former DOJ official who led Iran-related sanctions cases, told Fortune that investigators being fired under an active federal monitorship was "rather shocking."
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