Binance files U.S. lawsuit accusing WSJ of defamation

Traders Union
All News
Crypto News
Binance challenges WSJ report

All news

Top Stories

Editors' Picks

Crypto News

Financial News

Currencies

Market Voices

Companies

Regulators News

Central Banks News

Anastasiia Chabaniuk

11.03.2026

Binance files U.S. lawsuit accusing WSJ of defamation — Binance sues The Wall Street Journal over allegations of Iran-linked transactions

Crypto exchange Binance has filed a defamation lawsuit against Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, following a report about alleged Iran-linked transactions. The company said the article contained false claims about its compliance systems and internal investigations.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Binance argues that the newspaper wrongly reported the exchange had fired employees who raised concerns about suspicious transactions tied to sanctioned entities. The company insists the employee departures were related to violations of internal data protection policies, not retaliation against staff who flagged compliance issues.

In a separate report, The Wall Street Journal said the U.S. Department of Justice is examining whether Iranian financial networks may have used Binance to move funds in violation of American sanctions. According to sources cited by the newspaper, investigators have contacted individuals who may have knowledge of the transactions. However, it remains unclear whether Binance itself is the target of the investigation or whether authorities are focusing only on users of the platform.

Binance’s response

In response to the allegations, Binance said the funds mentioned in the report did not originate or end on its platform, but instead passed through several independent intermediaries.

The company also stated that it identified suspicious activity through its own investigation and reported the findings to law enforcement, while removing the accounts involved in the transactions.

Legal pressure on Binance

The dispute with WSJ has again drawn attention to Binance’s legal challenges. In 2023, the exchange pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money-laundering and sanctions laws and agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties. Founder Changpeng Zhao also pleaded guilty to related charges and served four months in prison before receiving a presidential pardon in October 2025.

As part of the settlement, Binance currently operates under the supervision of a U.S.-appointed compliance monitor, who has also requested records related to the alleged Iran-linked transactions.

Earlier we reported that a U.S. court dismissed a lawsuit accusing Binance of financing terrorism.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.