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Binance processed $1.7 billion through accounts flagged for suspicious activity between 2021 and 2025, with $144 million in transactions occurring after the exchange’s $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities, according to leaked internal documents reviewed by the Financial Times.
The investigation found that hundreds of accounts with red flags for potential money laundering, terrorism financing, and sanctions evasion remained active even after Binance entered a November 2023 plea agreement with the Justice Department that promised sweeping compliance reforms.
The data examined involved 13 suspicious accounts that collectively processed about $1.7 billion in transactions with roughly $144 million occurring after the settlement figures now cited as key evidence in the Binance lawsuit.
One account registered to a resident of a Venezuelan slum reportedly moved about $93 million over four years with some funds traced to networks later accused by U.S. allegedly funneling funds for Iran and Lebanon’s Hizbollah.
Another account, registered to a 25 year old Venezuelan woman, received more than $177 million in cryptocurrency over two years and changed its linked bank details 647 times within 14 months cycling through nearly 500 unique accounts across multiple countries activity experts say strengthens claims in the Binance lawsuit.
Former U.S. federal prosecutor Stefan Cassella told the Financial Times that the patterns resembled those of an unlicensed money transmitting business, a characterization frequently raised in commentary surrounding the Binance lawsuit.
The investigation also highlighted physically implausible login activity. One account showed access from Caracas in the afternoon followed by a login from Osaka, Japan early the next morning suggesting account compromise or coordinated misuse details now scrutinized under the expanding Binance lawsuit narrative.
Several of the accounts received Tether stablecoin from wallets later frozen by Israeli authorities under anti-terrorism laws.
Many transfers were linked to wallets associated with Tawfiq Al-Law, a Syrian national accused of moving funds for Hezbollah and Iran backed Houthi groups whose accounts were seized in 2023 and who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2024 developments cited as further risk indicators in the Binance lawsuit.
Binance told the Financial Times that it operates strict compliance controls and enforces a zero tolerance policy toward illicit activity emphasizing systems designed to detect and investigate suspicious transactions. Nonetheless, critics argue that the persistence of flagged flows undermines those assurances and deepens the Binance lawsuit concerns.
The findings arrive amid heightened scrutiny of Binance’s governance following the October presidential pardon of founder Changpeng Zhao for anti-money laundering violations.
Former intelligence officials told the newspaper that the pardon combined with expanding business ties between the former president’s family and Binance linked entities has complicated oversight adding yet another layer to the evolving Binance lawsuit.
Notably, much of the activity reviewed occurred after independent compliance monitors were appointed in 2024 a timing that investigators say could play a pivotal role as the Binance lawsuit continues to unfold.
