Binance Investigation Links Iran Sanctions Network to $850 Million in Transfers

A Binance internal investigation identified a sanctions-evasion network linked to Iranian financier Babak Zanjani that moved about $850 million through Binance accounts.

The network involved 21 individual and corporate accounts linked through affiliated businesses, shell companies and multiple trading accounts. At least $67 million moved from two accounts to digital wallets associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.

A Tajik businessman, Sukhrob Oimakhmadov, received more than $10 million through an account designated as a high-value customer. Some of the funds came from wallets later identified by Israel’s Defense Ministry as connected to the IRGC.

Zedcex, a crypto platform linked to Zanjani, processed nearly $830 million in transactions through its accounts. About $56 million was withdrawn to wallets tied to the IRGC-linked network. The activity also involved Turkish payments company ZedPay and the USDZ token.

Binance said it identified the activity, restricted accounts tied to sanctions violations and began removing them from the platform. The exchange also said total transaction volume did not equal the amount that reached the IRGC and acknowledged weaknesses in past internal approval and response procedures. The U.S. Treasury previously sanctioned Zanjani and related companies and individuals.