Binance said to be facing U.S. DOJ investigation into alleged Iranian sanctions activity

Since then, the company has sought to emphasize its cooperation with law enforcement and regulators. The company said in a blog post in February that more than 1,500 people, or about 25% of its global headcount, worked on compliance.

In March, Binance filed a defamation lawsuit against Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, after the newspaper published a report claiming the U.S. Justice Department was investigating whether Iran used the platform to move funds in violation of American sanctions.

Richard Teng, Binance co-CEO, accused the Wall Street Journal of “inaccurate reporting about our compliance program” at the time.

In April, the New York Times reported that Binance made it more difficult for law enforcement officials in several countries to obtain user information, making it harder to find scammers and combat money laundering.

Binance has continuously affirmed it has never permitted transactions with people who were under sanctions and has pledged to continue cooperation with authorities.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, initiated a probe in February into alleged sanctions violations at Binance to the tune of $1.7 billion. Binance responded to the allegations, saying it found no evidence to support the accusations.