Changpeng “CZ” Zhao pushed back strongly this week against allegations that Binance facilitated crypto flows that may have financed Iran-linked terrorism — calling the claims baseless and emphasizing he had no interest or incentive to be involved.
Speaking at the Digital Chamber’s DC Blockchain Summit on Wednesday, the Binance founder and former CEO — who agreed to step down under a criminal settlement with U.S. authorities — said the accusations miss the mark. “I have zero interest in doing that,” CZ said. “I live in a country that’s being attacked by Iran. Even before that, I was just not interested in that.”
CZ, now a UAE resident, pointed to a string of civil suits in U.S. courts that were recently dismissed and reiterated Binance’s position that the contested Iran-linked transfers wouldn’t have generated trading fees or business value for the exchange. “There’s no benefit,” he added, defending his former company’s conduct. He also said he’s been the target of misinformation while preparing a memoir he worked on during his time in prison — a period after which, the article notes, he received a pardon from former President Donald Trump.
The comments come amid a wider storm of scrutiny. Binance — the world’s largest crypto exchange, which reached a 2023 settlement with U.S. regulators over anti-money-laundering and sanctions-related violations — last week sued the Wall Street Journal. The suit challenges reporting that claimed Binance dismissed compliance staff who flagged suspicious transactions. Internal investigators have allegedly identified more than $1 billion in crypto transfers from Chinese clients to wallets tied to Iranian financing networks; Binance says it has found no evidence that platform accounts transacted directly with Iranian entities.
CZ characterized many of the public accusations as “false, baseless information,” and used the summit appearance to distance himself personally and professionally from the alleged Iran-related flows. The dispute underscores continuing tensions between crypto platforms, regulators and the media over how exchanges detect and police illicit activity — and signals that legal and reputational fights for Binance are far from over.
Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news
