Binance is said to have assisted Iranian enterprises in evading sanctions and trading billions of dollars

In 2018, the Trump administration announced that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic, warning that anyone trading with it would be unable to do business with the United States.

Reuters reported in July 2022 that the exchange was still accepting Iranian users. Binance responded at the time by stating that it “strictly adheres to international sanction rules” and uses “banking grade tools” to prevent sanctioned entities from using its platform.

More woes for Binance?

The story could be another setback for Binance, coming only three months after Finbold revealed that the exchange had lost 90% of its users and “billions in income” after imposing ‘know-your-customer’ (KYC) checks and withdrawal limits on its platform in July 2021.

Previously, in late 2020, US federal prosecutors requested that Binance submit extensive internal data about its anti-money laundering (AML) inspections, as well as contacts with its CEO and founder, Changpeng Zhao.

Iran’s contentious geopolitics

Surprisingly, the Iranian Presidential Center for Strategic Studies encouraged the country to use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for mining in order to avoid international sanctions in March 2021.

Finally, Iran has recently drawn international attention for allegedly selling hundreds of drones and other military equipment to Russia, which is currently engaged in an invasion of neighboring Ukraine.