US prosecutors have alleged that two Chinese companies used Binance accounts to launder $61mn in payments for black-market Iranian oil and attempted to funnel the funds back to the Iranian government. The justice department filed a forfeiture complaint to seize the funds, which were sent through a network of digital wallets that received and distributed more than $1.5bn in proceeds from illicit Iranian oil sales. At least some funds were used to finance terrorism, prosecutors said.

A Binance spokesperson said: "This case was not filed against Binance and does not allege wrongdoing by Binance. Binance has zero tolerance for sanctions violations or illicit activity, and Binance did not permit any transactions with sanctioned individuals. We will continue to co-operate with law enforcement on this matter."

The case was filed against currency in digital wallets, not against Binance or the two Chinese companies, Hexa Whale Trading and Blessed Trust. Binance pleaded guilty to US criminal charges in 2023 related to breach of anti-money laundering laws and paid a $4.3bn fine. Its founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to protect against money laundering and was sentenced to four months in federal prison. US President Donald Trump pardoned Zhao in October last year. An Abu Dhabi fund purchased a $2bn Binance equity stake from Zhao last year, paid using USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, a crypto company controlled by Trump's family. Binance.com does not operate in the US.