A federal judge in the United States dismissed a lawsuit filed against Binance and the company’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, seeking damages for allegedly linking crypto transfers to terrorist attacks. After the decision was given on March 6, it was stated that the plaintiffs could not establish a direct connection between Binance and the attacks.
Alleged Crypto Transfers Linked to Terrorism
The case was filed by 535 victims and their relatives who were affected by dozens of attacks around the world. The plaintiffs alleged that from 2017 to 2024, Binance facilitated crypto transfers for groups designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The complaint alleged that these groups carried out transfers associated with at least 64 attacks through Binance, and that hundreds of millions of dollars of transactions were made in the accounts. It was also claimed that billions of dollars of trade with Iranian users indirectly benefited those associated with the attacks.
Court’s Evaluation and Decision Reason
U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas in Manhattan dismissed the case due to a lack of sufficient connection between Binance and the alleged attacks. In the decision text, it was emphasized that no reasonable evidence was presented that Binance or Changpeng Zhao directly or intentionally supported the attacks in question. The judge pointed out that there were transactions based solely on customer relations between the platform and accounts belonging to terrorist organizations or their affiliates.
Vargas evaluated that “Plaintiffs have not been able to reasonably demonstrate that the defendants were criminally involved in these attacks or contributed to their occurrence.” The court also noted that the case consisted of 891 pages and more than 3,100 paragraphs, and stated that the file was unnecessarily prolonged.
Plaintiffs were allowed to review and refile their complaints, so the case is not completely closed. However, with the available evidence, the case could not reach the desired result.
Changpeng Zhao stated that he rejected the accusations made in the legal process and that the platform was determined to fight against terrorism. Zhao argued that the allegations were made using Binance’s past legal troubles.
It is known that in the agreement Binance previously made with the US authorities, the company agreed to pay a fine of $ 4.32 billion due to violations regarding money laundering and sanctions.
Iran Sanctions and the US Senate Investigation
An investigation initiated by US Senator Richard Blumenthal alleged that Binance violated Iran sanctions. The allegations were based on millions of dollars’ worth of transactions on the platform, which also cited Russia-related sanctions as evidence. In its response to these allegations, Binance stated that it found the information in the news incorrect and that it was not based on credible evidence. The company announced that it removed the first of the business partners named Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust from the system in August 2025 and the second in January 2026, following the investigations they carried out upon the request of law enforcement authorities.
