Leaked Data Reveals Binance Accounts Moved $1.7 Billion Including $144 Million Post-2023 Settlement
Leaked Financial Times data has revealed that 13 Binance accounts were involved in a total of $1.7 billion in transfers since 2021, including $144 million moved after Binance's November 2023 settlement with FinCEN and OFAC. This settlement imposed a five-year FinCEN monitorship and stricter anti-money laundering (AML) obligations on Binance, and also led to the resignation of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
The accounts involved were registered in countries including Venezuela, Brazil, Syria, Niger, and China. Notably, one account linked to a 25-year-old Venezuelan woman received over $177 million in cryptocurrency since April 2022. Suspicious red flags were identified, such as an account that changed its payment details 647 times between January 2023 and March 2024 and IP logs indicating access from Caracas followed by Japan on consecutive days.
Approximately $29 million of USDT was moved through four wallets linked to Syrian Tawfiq Al-Law, who was seized by Israel in May 2023 for ties to terrorism financing; OFAC sanctioned Al-Law in March 2024. Binance stated that it has robust systems to flag and investigate suspicious transactions and that no sanctions violations were found in the cited activity. The wallets in question were not sanctioned at the times the activities took place.
Since November 2023, Binance has operated under the independent five-year FinCEN monitorship and affirmed its compliance with all relevant financial sanctions. However, the company faces potential penalties, including a suspended $150 million fine if it fails to meet its obligations under the agreement.
