WSJ: Iranian Businessman Network Moved $850 Million Through Binance

Crypto exchange Binance is under fire again for possible violations of US sanctions against Iran.

Research by The Wall Street Journal shows that a network around Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani carried out about $850 million worth of trades through the exchange. Some of the money even ended up in crypto wallets associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The Wall Street Journal was given access to an 80-page internal Binance report. It describes how Zanjani managed to move money through a network of 21 trading accounts and various companies.

The network used companies in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, among others. Through two accounts, at least $67 million flowed into crypto wallets that, according to Israeli authorities, were linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

It is striking that Binance had previously received signals about suspicious activities.

An important role was reserved for Sukhrob Oimakhmadov, a business partner of Zanjani. He had the status of a valuable customer at Binance and therefore benefited from lower trading costs and personal service.

His account received more than $10 million from wallets later linked to the IRGC as of the end of 2023. Binance had also previously investigated him for transactions with an Iranian money changer.

Yet he remained a customer. According to internal documents, investigators needed approval from senior management to remove such valuable customers.

The investigation revealed another striking detail. A business account of crypto platform Zedcex was opened more than twelve times from Tehran between the end of 2024 and the end of 2025.

Meanwhile, the warnings piled up. Swiss authorities requested information due to a fraud investigation. US law enforcement also investigated the account for possible money laundering.

Almost $830 million was traded through Zedcex alone. Of that, $56 million went to wallets linked to the IRGC by Israel, according to the internal report.

Binance emphasizes that it ultimately blocked and deleted the suspicious accounts. According to a spokesperson, the crypto exchange also cooperates with international investigative services.

The company also points out that the total trade volume is not equal to the amount that actually ended up with the Revolutionary Guards.

The revelations are particularly sensitive because Binance already admitted guilt in 2023 for violating US anti-money laundering rules and sanctions legislation.

At the time, the company had to pay billions of dollars and founder Changpeng Zhao resigned as CEO. He was then imprisoned for four months and was pardoned by President Donald Trump in October 2025.

The new study once again calls into question the controls at the world's largest crypto exchange.