by i24 News
A representation of virtual currency Bitcoin is seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken January 8, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
i24 News – Crypto giant Binance processed Iranian transactions with a value of $8 billion since 2018 despite US sanctions intended to cut Iran off from the global financial system, blockchain data show.
Almost all the funds, some $7.8 billion, flowed between Binance and Iran’s largest crypto exchange, Nobitex, according to a review of data from leading US blockchain researcher Chainalysis. Nobitex offers guidance on its website on how to skirt sanctions.
Three-quarters of the Iranian funds that passed through Binance were in a relatively low-profile cryptocurrency called Tron that gives users an option to conceal their identities. In a blog post last year, Nobitex encouraged clients to use Tron – a mid-tier token – to trade anonymously without “endangering assets due to sanctions.”
The scale of Binance’s Iranian crypto flows – and the fact that they are continuing – has not been previously reported.
These new findings came as the US Justice Department is pursuing an investigation into possible violations of money-laundering rules by Binance, which dominates the $1 trillion crypto industry, with over 120 million users.
The transactions put the company at risk of falling afoul of US prohibitions on doing business with Iran, lawyers, and trade sanctions, experts said.
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