Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao pushed back forcefully this week against allegations that the exchange played any role in processing transactions that may have enabled terrorism financing linked to Iran.
Speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit hosted by the Digital Chamber, CZ said he has “zero interest” in facilitating such activity and noted personal stakes — he lives in the UAE and said his country has been the target of Iranian attacks. He also pointed to recent U.S. court dismissals of civil suits that alleged Binance served as a conduit for terror financing, arguing the claims were unfounded and economically implausible. “There’s no benefit,” he said, noting that the Iran-related transfers cited in the reporting don’t generate fees and therefore wouldn’t be a business incentive.
CZ — who agreed to step down from Binance under a criminal settlement with U.S. authorities last year — also disputed reporting that compliance staff were fired after flagging suspicious transfers. Last week, Binance sued the Wall Street Journal over an article alleging the exchange dismissed employees who had raised red flags. Internal investigators reportedly identified more than $1 billion in crypto flows from Chinese clients into wallets linked to Iranian financing networks; Binance counters that it has not found evidence of direct transactions between accounts on its platform and Iranian entities.
Now based in the UAE and preparing a memoir he worked on while in custody, CZ said he’s been the target of “false, baseless” attacks and pushed back on the narrative linking Binance directly to Iranian networks. The dispute adds another chapter to ongoing scrutiny of the world’s largest crypto exchange following its 2023 settlement over anti-money-laundering and sanctions-related charges.
As investigations and litigation continue, Binance and its former CEO remain at the center of a broader debate over compliance, platform responsibility and the limits of crypto surveillance — even as both parties publicly dispute the most serious allegations.
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