Prosecutors target $61M in crypto tied to Iranian oil laundering via Binance
In brief
- Prosecutors filed civil forfeiture targeting $61 million in crypto tied to alleged Iranian oil money laundering via Binance
- Hong Kong entities Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale Trading processed $1.7 billion in combined trading volume
- Complaint does not name Binance as defendant but raises compliance questions after 2023 $4.3 billion settlement
The Alleged Scheme
The alleged entities facilitated fund transfers that ultimately supported the Iranian government, including entities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which carries a US designation as a terrorist organization. Prosecutors stated the $61 million targeted in the forfeiture represents a slice of a much larger scheme involving over $1.5 billion in illicit oil proceeds funneled through various digital wallets.
The transactions at the center of the complaint occurred between May and June of 2025. Hexa Whale Trading allegedly processed roughly $490 million in trading volume through its Binance accounts, while Blessed Trust's volume reached approximately $1.2 billion. Binance offboarded Hexa Whale in August 2025 and Blessed Trust in January 2026.
Binance's Compliance Record
The civil forfeiture complaint does not name Binance as a defendant, and the exchange is not charged criminally. Binance representatives stated the company remains committed to sanctions compliance and is cooperating with law enforcement.
The timing raises questions about the exchange's oversight. In 2023, Binance entered a guilty plea resulting in a $4.3 billion penalty for anti-money laundering failures and sanctions violations. Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stepped down as part of the 2023 resolution and served a prison sentence. Internal compliance findings surfaced in 2026 indicated that Binance's own analysis identified significant transfers, reportedly as high as $1.7 billion, flowing to wallets associated with Iran.
Congressional Scrutiny
Congressional inquiries have intensified regarding how an exchange operating under a compliance monitor could still serve as a conduit for sanctions evasion at this scale. The civil forfeiture complaint highlights a mechanism involving Hong Kong-registered entities opening accounts and conducting massive volumes of trades that serve as a laundering pipeline for sanctioned-country oil revenue. The DOJ has not indicated whether additional forfeiture actions or criminal referrals are forthcoming.
