Binance Enabled $1.7Billion Transfers Linked To Iranian Terror Financing Networks, Israeli Report Alleges | Sahara Reporters
The report, authored by Dr. Udi Levi and published on August 13, 2026, states that United States Department of Justice investigations found Binance “enabled the transfer of more than $1.7 billion” from accounts belonging to customers and proxies connected to Iranian terrorist financing networks.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance enabled the transfer of more than $1.7 billion connected to Iranian terrorist financing networks and allowed over 2,000 accounts physically located in sanctioned Iran to trade freely on its platform, according to a new report by the Amit Terrorism and Intelligence Research Institute (ITIC).
ITIC, also known as the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, is an Israeli research institute that specializes in analyzing terrorism, intelligence, and security issues, particularly in the Middle East. It was named after Meir Amit, a former head of Israeli military intelligence and the Mossad.
The report, authored by Dr. Udi Levi and published on August 13, 2026, states that United States Department of Justice investigations found Binance “enabled the transfer of more than $1.7 billion” from accounts belonging to customers and proxies connected to Iranian terrorist financing networks.
It further alleges that, despite sanctions on Iran, the platform “allowed more than 2,000 accounts physically located in Iran to operate freely.”
Richard Teng, Binance CEO, has since rejected these claims, calling the reports “false and defamatory.” Binance confirmed that its internal review found no direct dealings with Iranian entities and highlighted the strength of its compliance, KYC, and monitoring systems.
According to the report, concerns about the exchange’s role in financing Hamas were raised internally by Binance’s own staff years before the company faced formal action in the United States.
It states that Binance’s former chief compliance officer acknowledged in internal conversations as far back as 2019 that “the platform was being used to transfer funds to Hamas.”
The report also alleges that, as recently as February 2026, Binance “dismissed internal investigators who had warned about this flow of funds.”
The ITIC report describes Binance’s conduct, whether through deliberate disregard or negligence, as having contributed to a business model that circumvented anti-money laundering and know-your-customer (AML/KYC) regulations, ultimately leading to the company’s conviction in the United States and lawsuits filed by Israeli and American victims of terrorism.
The Binance findings are presented in the report as part of a broader pattern in which Tehran has turned to cryptocurrency to offset the impact of Western sanctions. The report states that Iran’s domestic crypto market recorded roughly $9.9 billion in activity in 2025, concentrated mainly in four local exchanges, namely Nobitex, Biptin, Wallex and Ramzinex, all of which were hit with comprehensive US sanctions in June 2026.
Because Iran’s local exchanges are cut off from the rest of the world, the report says they depend on offshore platforms such as CoinEx, registered in the Seychelles, and Aban Tether, a platform focused on the Tether stablecoin (USDT), to convert funds into usable foreign currency.
Binance is presented in the report as the most consequential of these offshore access points, given its position as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The report is the first in a planned ITIC series on terrorism financing, with future instalments expected to focus specifically on how Hamas and Hezbollah fund their military and political operations.
This report is based on findings published by the ITIC on August 13, 2026, which in turn cites US Department of Justice investigations and litigation, including Raanan v. Binance Holdings Ltd. and Troell et al. v. Binance Holdings Ltd.