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Leaked files allege $1.7B moved through flagged Binance accounts
Binance is again under scrutiny after leaked internal data reviewed by the Financial Times indicates 13 suspicious accounts processed about $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency transactions between 2021 and 2025. The records reportedly show roughly $144 million of that volume moved through the exchange after Binance’s high-profile $4.3 billion U.S. plea agreement in November 2023.
The disclosures allege that a number of accounts continued to trade despite multiple red flags tied to money laundering, sanctions evasion and potential terror-financing. Several of the transfers involved USDT (Tether), the leading stablecoin by market cap, heightening questions about stablecoin flows and AML (anti-money laundering) controls on large crypto exchanges.
High-risk patterns and suspicious login behavior
Among the most striking details in the review were accounts with implausible login patterns and extreme account churn. One account registered to a Venezuelan slum reportedly moved about $93 million over four years, with some funds traced to a network U.S. authorities later linked to transfers for Iran and Lebanon’s Hizbollah.
Another account, registered to a 25‑year‑old Venezuelan woman, reportedly received more than $177 million in cryptocurrency across two years. That account allegedly changed its linked bank details 647 times in just 14 months and cycled through nearly 500 unique bank accounts across multiple countries—behaviors consistent with layering and structuring often associated with unlicensed money-transmitting businesses.
The leaked logs also showed login activity that appeared physically impossible: one account showed access from Caracas in the afternoon and then from Osaka, Japan, early the next morning, suggesting either account takeovers or coordinated misuse by remote operators.
Stablecoin links and sanctions concerns
Several wallets received USDT from addresses later frozen by Israeli authorities under anti-terrorism legislation. Many of those transfers were reportedly traced to wallets linked to Tawfiq Al‑Law, a Syrian national accused by authorities of moving funds for Hizbollah and Iran‑backed Houthi groups. Israel seized related accounts in 2023, and the U.S. Treasury issued sanctions on Al‑Law in 2024.
These findings raise questions about the effectiveness of crypto compliance tools—such as sanctions screening and transaction monitoring—especially for stablecoin flows that are heavily used for cross-border value transfer on public blockchains.
Binance response and broader governance questions
Binance told the Financial Times it maintains strict compliance controls and a zero-tolerance approach to illicit activity, pointing to systems designed to flag, investigate, and remediate suspicious transactions. The company emphasized ongoing investments in AML staff, on-chain analytics, and transaction monitoring technology to detect risky flows.
Still, former U.S. federal prosecutor Stefan Cassella told the FT that the patterns in the data resembled operations of an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The report also arrives in the wake of political and regulatory developments that have complicated oversight, including the October presidential pardon for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao related to prior anti-money-laundering violations and expanded commercial ties between the former president’s family and Binance-linked entities.
Independent monitors were appointed in 2024 as part of enforcement follow-ups, but the Financial Times review indicates much of the activity occurred after those monitors began their work.
What this means for crypto compliance and market trust
For regulators and compliance teams, the alleged flows highlight persistent risks in the crypto ecosystem: bad actors exploiting weak controls, rapid cross-border movement via stablecoins like USDT, and sophisticated account manipulation that can evade automated filters. For investors and the broader blockchain community, the revelations risk eroding trust in major centralized exchanges, underscoring the need for stronger transparency, enhanced blockchain analytics, and clearer industry standards for KYC/AML and sanctions compliance.
As investigations continue, market participants will be watching how Binance, regulators and independent monitors address the alleged lapses and whether enforcement will prompt stricter global rules for exchanges, stablecoins, and cross-border crypto payments. The story is unfolding as authorities worldwide press for more robust AML safeguards in the crypto sector.
Source: crypto
Comments
Marius
Wow didnt expect that… 144M moved after the plea? If accurate this wrecks trust in exchanges. Who's actually auditing Binance now, serious questions
mechbyte
Is this even true? $1.7B ran through flagged accounts after the plea... how do login patterns like Caracas->Osaka get missed? smells fishy, big red flags
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