Full Breakdown
DOJ Seeks $61 Million in Crypto Tied to Iranian Oil Laundering via Binance
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event: Civil Forfeiture Complaint Targets $61 Million Linked to Iran’s Sanctioned Oil Sales
On September 15, 2026, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking seizure of more than $61 million in cryptocurrency alleged to have come from black-market sales of Iranian crude oil. The complaint accuses two China-based entities—Blessed Trust Limited and Hexa Whale Trading Limited—of using Binance accounts to convert the oil proceeds into digital assets and funnel them to the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The filing says a “cluster of self-custodied wallets” moved more than $1.5 billion in illicit oil proceeds, routing funds to IRGC-linked businesses, other crypto wallets and an Iranian exchange. While the DOJ focuses on the $61 million held in Tether addresses, it notes the broader network handled the full $1.5 billion amount.
Background & Context
Iran has relied on black-market oil sales to fund its military despite U.S. sanctions. In July 2026, OFAC reported Iran was accepting bitcoin and other digital assets to evade sanctions, including through a service called Hormuz Safe.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto platform, has been under regulatory scrutiny since its 2023 guilty plea for AML and sanctions violations, which resulted in a $4.3 billion civil penalty and the appointment of independent monitors reporting to the DOJ and FinCEN.
Data & Statistics
- $1.5 billion: Total illicit oil proceeds alleged to have moved through the crypto network.
- $61 million (? $61.19 million): Amount the DOJ seeks to forfeit, frozen in ten Tether (USDT) addresses on the Tron network in 2025.
- Blessed Trust: Moved more than $1.2 billion into a cluster of addresses labeled “Entity A.”
- Hexa Whale: Sent roughly $500 million into the same network.
- $4.3 billion: Fine paid by Binance in 2023 for prior AML and sanctions violations.
Official Statements & Responses
- Binance spokesperson: “We will continue to cooperate with law enforcement on this matter, and where sanctions or illicit-finance risk is identified, we will investigate, restrict or freeze accounts, offboard users, and report to relevant authorities.”
- U.S. Department of Justice: “A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation. These allegations are not proven until a court awards a judgment in favor of the United States.”
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Sources differ on how much of the $1.5 billion actually transited Binance. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal cited an internal Binance investigation that found “more than $1 billion” moved to Iranian entities, while other reports reference a broader $1.7 billion figure linked to Iran-related proxies. The complaint does not specify the precise share that passed through Binance accounts, leaving the exact scale of the exchange’s involvement unclear.