The Justice Department is investigating Binance's potential involvement in Iran's use of the cryptocurrency exchange to evade U.S. sanctions.
According to company documents and people familiar with the matter, the probe follows Binance's dismantling of an internal investigation into more than $1 billion that flowed through the platform to a network funding Iran-backed terror groups.
Officials have contacted people with knowledge of the Iranian transactions to seek interviews and gather evidence, some of the people said.
Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating U.S. anti-money-laundering and sanctions laws, paying a $4.3 billion fine and agreeing to operate under U.S. oversight.
The Treasury Department-appointed monitor overseeing the company's compliance program also recently requested that the exchange provide information about the Iranian transactions, including about a business partner that sent much of the money.
Binance suspended the employees investigating the transactions last November, not long after they flagged $1.7 billion moving from Chinese clients into digital wallets used by Iran to finance its proxies, including Yemen's Houthi militants.
The Justice Department declined to comment, while Binance said it was confident it complies with all reporting obligations and cooperates with law enforcement and regulators.
