Three years after Binance pleaded guilty and paid $4.3 billion in penalties, US federal prosecutors are looking at the world’s largest crypto exchange again. On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, it emerged that the Manhattan US attorney’s office is investigating whether Binance knowingly let trades that violated Iran sanctions go through.
No charges have been filed, and the probe could close without any. But for an exchange still operating under the shadow of its 2023 plea, the question being asked — did it know? — is the one that matters most.
Key facts
- On September 22, 2026, reports first published by Bloomberg said the Manhattan US attorney’s office is investigating Binance over possible Iran sanctions violations, with the DOJ’s criminal division in Washington also involved.
- Prosecutors are examining whether Binance failed to halt trading that broke Iran sanctions and whether it knew; the transactions under review are unclear, and both offices declined to comment.
- Binance said: “We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations.”
- In 2023 Binance pleaded guilty and agreed to $4.3 billion in penalties and two corporate monitors; founder Changpeng Zhao served four months and was later pardoned by President Trump.
- Fortune reported on February 13, 2026 that internal investigators found over $1 billion moving to Iran-linked entities and were then dismissed; the New York Times put the figure at $1.7 billion.
- Binance says at most $126.1 million reached Iran-linked wallets after multiple hops, with at most $24.1 million IRGC-related.
Why are federal prosecutors investigating Binance?
Manhattan federal prosecutors are investigating whether Binance failed to stop trading on its platform that violated US sanctions on Iran, and whether the exchange knew about it. The probe, first reported by Bloomberg and covered by CoinDesk on September 22, 2026, also involves the Justice Department’s criminal division in Washington. It may end without charges.
According to CoinDesk, which cited the Bloomberg report, the case sits with the US attorney’s office in Manhattan. Decrypt noted that it is unclear which transactions are under review, and that both the Manhattan office and the DOJ declined to comment.
Knowledge is the key word. Exchanges can process tainted flows without realizing it; sanctions cases turn on whether a company saw the problem and let it continue. That is exactly what earlier reporting has alleged.
What did earlier reports say about Binance and Iran?
Earlier in 2026, Fortune and the New York Times reported that Binance’s own investigators had traced large sums to Iran-linked entities. Binance disputes the scale, saying at most $126.1 million reached Iran-linked wallets, and only after multiple hops. The gap between those numbers is now, in effect, part of what prosecutors are weighing.
| Source | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Fortune (Feb 13, 2026) | Over $1B to Iran-linked entities, found by internal investigators who were then dismissed |
| New York Times | $1.7B |
| Binance | At most $126.1M to Iran-linked wallets after multiple hops; at most $24.1M IRGC-related |
The reporting has political weight too. Senator Richard Blumenthal opened an inquiry requesting records on two entities, Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust, per Decrypt.
A separate case the week before
The week before the probe became public, Manhattan prosecutors sought forfeiture of $61 million tied to Iranian black-market oil sales that were allegedly laundered through Binance. Binance is not accused of wrongdoing in that case. But it shows the same office was already tracing Iran-related money through the exchange.
In a sanctions case, the question isn’t whether dirty money passed through. It’s who knew.
What is at stake for Binance after its 2023 plea?
A lot. In 2023 Binance pleaded guilty to US charges, agreed to $4.3 billion in penalties and accepted two corporate monitors. Changpeng Zhao served four months in prison and was later pardoned by President Trump. A new sanctions investigation tests whether the compliance overhaul promised under that deal actually worked.
The rules have also tightened. Since August, OFAC can designate any foreign person operating in Iran’s digital-asset sector, Decrypt reported. That widens the net well beyond exchanges headquartered in the US.
None of this means Binance will be charged. Investigations are opened far more often than they lead to indictments. But it is another reminder that large exchanges sit inside a regulatory system that can, at any point, change how they treat their users. We looked at the same dynamic in HTX, sanctions and CEX risk.
What does this mean for exchange users?
For most users, nothing changes overnight. But exchanges under regulatory pressure typically tighten compliance: more withdrawal reviews, more requests for source-of-funds documents, and sometimes temporary account restrictions. If you keep a large balance on any centralized exchange, those reviews can stand between you and your money.
The simplest way to limit that exposure is not to leave more on an exchange than you need. Self-custody keeps your balance out of a company’s compliance queue; our guide to cold storage options is a starting point.
SwapZilla is not a way around sanctions or compliance. It has no accounts and doesn’t hold funds: you compare quotes from licensed exchange providers and receive coins in your own wallet. Those providers run their own AML checks and can pause a swap for review — our AML policy explains how that works. What it removes is the standing balance, not the rules; see how it works.
Final thoughts
The September 22 report doesn’t accuse Binance of anything new yet. It says prosecutors in Manhattan, with the DOJ in Washington, are asking whether the exchange knowingly let Iran sanctions violations through. Binance says it has zero tolerance; earlier reports put Iran-linked flows anywhere from $126.1 million to $1.7 billion.
How the probe ends will matter for Binance. What it means for users is already clear: an exchange balance is subject to everything happening to the exchange, including investigations you will only read about in the news.
Your balance on an exchange lives inside its legal problems.