Binance has filed a lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, accusing the publication of making false and defamatory claims in a February report about alleged Iran-linked crypto transactions.
In an official blog post on Wednesday, the exchange said it had filed the complaint targeting a Feb. 23 article that alleged Binance had dismantled an internal compliance investigation into more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency flows tied to a network supporting Iran-backed militant groups.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s earlier reporting, internal investigators at Binance traced transactions through entities including a Hong Kong trading firm that allegedly moved hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins connected to Iranian networks.
The report claimed investigators were later suspended or dismissed after presenting their findings.
Binance has consistently disputed those claims and denied that it fired investigators over the reported $1.7 billion in crypto flows to Iran.
"Binance categorically did not dismantle any compliance investigation," a Binance spokesperson told The Block on Wednesday. "The WSJ continues to report the same falsities. As a result, we have filed a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal for defamation."
The spokesperson added that the exchange’s internal investigation continued and identified complex financial activity across several regions.
"The truth is that Binance’s investigation continued and uncovered a sophisticated,...
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