Binance terminates employees following internal review of sanctions compliance., 2026/02/14 13:33:49

Several members of the compliance team at the leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance were dismissed following an internal investigation that uncovered potential violations of sanctions related to Iran.

From March 2024 to August 2025, entities associated with Iran may have received over $1 billion through Binance, as revealed by an internal audit. The primary method of transfer was the stablecoin USDT on the Tron network. 

After analysts completed internal reports detailing the findings of the review, at least five of them lost their jobs. Sources from Fortune indicate that at least three of the dismissed analysts previously worked in law enforcement in Europe and Asia. 

Some of the terminated analysts held senior positions at Binance and were responsible for specialized and global financial investigations, including cases related to sanctions evasion and counter-terrorism financing. 

Additionally, in the past three months, four senior executives responsible for regulatory compliance have left the company. Several former employees publicly announced their departures from Binance on the social network LinkedIn, although they did not specify the reasons for their resignations.  

Binance declined to comment on personnel decisions but emphasized that the company “complies with all applicable sanctions laws and regulations.”  

In 2023, the exchange admitted to violations of anti-money laundering (AML) legislation and sanctions regulations. At that time, the company agreed to pay a fine of $4.3 billion. As a result of these proceedings, the founder and CEO of the exchange, Changpeng Zhao, stepped down from his leadership role and spent four months in a U.S. prison. 

A year later, in November 2024, Binance announced plans to increase its compliance staff by 34% by the end of the year, bringing the total to 645 employees. In 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump granted clemency to Zhao.