Former Binance Investigator Says Executives Shelved Review of 2,000 Iran Accounts

A former senior financial crimes investigator at Binance told Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents in May that executives sidelined a proposed review of about 2,000 accounts suspected of being used by people in Iran. The allegation concerns accounts that moved about $1.2 billion through the exchange.

The proposed internal inquiry was called Operation Loclock. The former employee’s lawyer said he has been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury in Washington.

Binance says it continued investigating the accounts. The company says the investigators were fired for violating customer data privacy rules, denies violating U.S. sanctions on Iran and says it is cooperating with law enforcement.

A related civil forfeiture case was filed Sept. 14. The Department of Justice sought about $61 million in cryptocurrency, alleging that Hexa Whale Trading Limited and Blessed Trust Limited used Binance accounts to move proceeds from Iranian oil sales. No criminal charges had been filed in the federal investigation as of Nov. 9.