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DOJ says millions in Iran oil proceeds laundered on Binance

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Cite

The Straits Times. (2026, September 15). DOJ says millions in Iran oil proceeds laundered on Binance. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/doj-says-millions-in-iran-oil-proceeds-laundered-on-binance

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Straits Times · collected 2026-09-15 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

The US Justice Department is seeking to forfeit $61 million it claims was generated from illicit Iranian oil sales and laundered through cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Prosecutors allege two Chinese entities used Binance accounts to funnel over $1.5 billion of illicit funds, intended for financing military and terrorist activities in Iran. The case highlights ongoing efforts by US authorities to disrupt financial channels supporting sanctioned regimes, while Binance maintains it has robust compliance measures and did not permit transactions with sanctioned individuals or groups involved in the scheme.
Written by AI on 2026-09-15, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The US Justice Department is seeking forfeiture of $61 million it claims were generated from Iranian black-market oil sales and laundered through the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. In a civil forfeiture claim filed on September 14, federal prosecutors in Manhattan alleged that Iran used cryptocurrency to launder more than $1.5 billion in illicit oil money via two Chinese entities, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale Trading. These entities allegedly presented themselves as a wealth management firm and commodities broker but were actually part of a scheme to funnel the proceeds to Iran for military and terrorist activities. Binance stated it would cooperate with law enforcement and take necessary actions against accounts identified with sanctions or illicit finance risk.

Written for “Iran Oil Proceeds Money Laundering” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Iran Oil Proceeds Money Laundering
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 23% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Fox News
Hedges 3 of 55 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss different financial activities related to Iran but describe distinct events: one about the Houthis' financial network and territorial advances in Yemen, and the other about the DOJ's claim regarding money laundering through Binance.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
23%
5 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 4103 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

The Straits Times
2624 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 2624 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

Binance Blessed Trust Iran Iranian Manhattan

Subjects

Binance ORG · 9× Iran GPE · 7× Blessed Trust ORG · 3× Iranian NORP · 3× Hexa Whale ORG · 2× Manhattan GPE · 2× DOJ ORG · 1× Justice Department ORG · 1× The US ORG · 1× WASHINGTON GPE · 1×

Narrative

“We will continue to cooperate with law enforcement on this matter, and where sanctions or illicit-finance risk is identified, we will always investigate, restrict or freeze accounts where appropriate, offboard users, and report to relevant authorities,” Binance said in a statement.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-15
🔮 Blessed Trust did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and contact information for Hexa Whale could not immediately be found.
2026-09-15 · The Straits Times
DOJ says millions in Iran oil proceeds laundered on Binance · mixed framing

Claims (22 extracted, 5 hedged)

DOJ says millions in Iran oil proceeds laundered on Binance AI generated asserted
millions → say → AI
The US Justice Department is seeking forfeiture of US$61 million (S$77.6 million) it says was generated from Iranian black-market oil sales and laundered through the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. asserted
it → seek → exchange
In a civil forfeiture claim filed on Sept 14, federal prosecutors in Manhattan alleged that Iran used cryptocurrency to launder more than US$1.5 billion in illicit oil money. uncertain
Iran → file → money
According to US prosecutors, two Chinese entities used trading accounts on Binance as part of a scheme to funnel the oil proceeds to Iran, its agents and proxies, where the funds were used to finance military and terrorist activities. uncertain
funds → accord → activities
The two entities, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale Trading, presented themselves as a wealth management firm and commodities broker, respectively, prosecutors said. asserted
prosecutors → present → firm
They allegedly also used the US financial system to send and receive tens of millions of dollars as part of the scheme. uncertain
They → use → scheme
Blessed Trust did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and contact information for Hexa Whale could not immediately be found. uncertain
information → respond → Whale
Manhattan Deputy US Attorney Sean Buckley said in a statement: “Today we are seizing and seeking to forfeit more than US$61 million of the government of Iran’s money, which otherwise would have promoted hostile military action and terrorist attacks against the US and our allies.” asserted
which → say → US
Prosecutors did not accuse Binance of wrongdoing. asserted
Prosecutors → accuse → wrongdoing
The firm said it did not permit any transactions with people who were sanctioned. asserted
who → say → people
“We will continue to cooperate with law enforcement on this matter, and where sanctions or illicit-finance risk is identified, we will always investigate, restrict or freeze accounts where appropriate, offboard users, and report to relevant authorities,” Binance said in a statement. asserted
Binance → continue → statement
The forfeiture claim is the latest legal manoeuvre by US prosecutors involving Iran in recent months as fighting between the countries continues. uncertain
fighting → involve → countries
The US alleged on Sept 14 that accounts holding the illicit oil proceeds were used to transfer crypto to an Iranian crypto exchange and money transmitters that are fronts for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. asserted
that → allege → Corps
Iran’s UN Mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment. asserted
Mission → respond → comment
In February, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported on an internal Binance investigation finding more than US$1 billion had moved through the platform to Iranian entities with links to terrorist groups. asserted
billion → report → groups
Following the reports, Binance said in blog posts that it cooperated with law enforcement officials and that its compliance programme was robust. asserted
programme → follow → officials
Binance has said it offboarded Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust before the reports earlier in 2026. asserted
it → say → 2026
The cryptocurrency exchange’s controls were under intense legal scrutiny in 2023 when the Justice Department charged the company and its co-founder over flouting anti-money laundering rules. asserted
Department → charge → rules
In that case, prosecutors said terrorist groups, people living in sanctioned countries and cybercriminals used the platform to move hundreds of millions of dollars. asserted
groups → say → dollars
Binance paid a US$4.3 billion fine to resolve the probe and co-founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to violating banking laws. asserted
Zhao → pay → laws
He spent four months in prison. asserted
He → spend → prison
US President Donald Trump granted Zhao a pardon in 2025. asserted
Trump → grant → 2025
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