Transactions on world’s largest crypto exchange took place despite repeated red flags; Binance says it has ‘zero-tolerance for illicit activity’Transactions on world’s largest crypto exchange took place despite repeated red flags; Binance says it has ‘zero-tolerance for illicit activity’

As Iran braced for conflict with the U.S., a key regime financier built a secret payment network to keep money flowing to its military forces. At its core was Binance.

Until as recently as December, the network, run by Babak Zanjani, an Iranian who is a self-described “antisanction” operator, made $850 million in transactions over two years on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, mostly on a single trading account, internal Binance compliance reports show.

Zanjani—a former sheepskin trader who became one of Iran’s wealthiest men and most famous sanctions busters—ratcheted up activity on Binance through his crypto firm, Zedcex, in 2024, Binance compliance reports show.

Zedcex, registered to a central London office, presented itself on social media as a trading platform for crypto traders. In reality, Zedcex’s main client was the IRGC, according to Treasury and foreign law-enforcement officials.

Zedcex also issued its own cryptocurrency, a dollar-based stablecoin called USDZ, which the company directed its customers to buy on Binance, according to Telegram messages viewed by the Journal. Binance’s website said USDZ wasn’t officially available on the main exchange but users could buy it on other exchanges and transfer the tokens to Binance, according to a screenshot of the site this month.

No word in the article if Bitcoin was also used as one of the currencies in these transactions.