Binance firmly denied the allegations that its internal audit team detected more than $ 1 billion in cryptocurrency transfers linked to Iran and was fired for this reason. The stock exchange, which has the highest transaction volume in the cryptocurrency industry, made statements regarding the allegations that have appeared in the financial media recently.
Source of Allegations and Company’s Response
The center of the discussions was the research news published by a US-based broadcaster on February 13, 2026. In the news in question, it was claimed that team members working in Binance’s compliance and audit department revealed a Tether (USDT) transfer worth $ 1 billion, allegedly linked to Iran-based institutions, between March 2024 and August 2025, and more than five teams were dismissed after this process.
According to the report, some of those who left their positions were senior investigators with law enforcement or law enforcement backgrounds. However, there is no clarity publicly available regarding the reasons announced by the stock exchange.
Binance’s Statements and Compliance Process
Binance Board Member and CEO Richard Teng clearly denied the allegations. In his written statement to the public, Teng stated that there was no sanctions violation and no employee was dismissed due to such complaints.
No sanctions violations were detected in our company records. No employees were terminated for raising concerns, and Binance continues to meet its regulatory obligations. We took initiatives to correct the news reported by some media organizations.
Binance’s communication department stated that there were significant errors and misdirections in the relevant news. In the statement, it was stated that no operating decisions or dismissals were related to sanction notifications and that the rule of law was complied with in internal investigations.
In addition, the company announced that the internal investigation was carried out by both its own legal department and independent legal institutions and that no findings of sanctions violations regarding suspicious transfers were found.
Sanctions and Industrial Background
Binance, which faced a high amount of criminal settlement in the USA in 2023 due to allegations of money laundering and sanctions violations, has been operating under stricter supervision and reporting obligations since then.
TRM Labs, Chainalysis and Elliptic, which are among the recent blockchain analysis companies, have found that Tether is preferred in cross-border money transfers, especially by individuals and institutions affiliated with Iran. Also in the USA, the Office of Financial Sanctions (OFAC) also imposed sanctions on some other cryptocurrency exchanges due to similar activities. Elliptic specifically clarified that USDT transactions on the Tron network are associated with addresses included in the sanctions list.
Binance, on the other hand, announced last year that it had seriously improved its sanctions screening and compliance mechanisms, especially after the compromise with the US authorities.
In the light of all these developments, while important names and companies of the sector put forward their positions with statements, no official audit or new administrative action regarding the issue has been brought to the agenda.
