Binance, CZ Cleared in US Civil Suit Over Alleged Terror Financing

A US federal judge has dismissed a civil lawsuit seeking to hold cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao responsible for transactions allegedly linked to terrorist organizations involved in dozens of attacks worldwide.

In a decision issued March 6, US District Judge Jeannette Vargas in Manhattan ruled that the plaintiffs failed to establish a credible connection between Binance and the attacks, according to a report by Reuters.

The lawsuit was filed by 535 plaintiffs, including victims and family members of victims, who claimed that digital asset transactions conducted through the exchange supported violent operations carried out between 2017 and 2024.

Plaintiffs Accuse Binance of Enabling Crypto Transfers Tied to 64 Attacks

The complaint alleged that several groups designated as foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Islamic State, Kataib Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Al-Qaeda, used cryptocurrency transactions facilitated through Binance to move funds connected to at least 64 attacks.

According to the filing, hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto transactions were allegedly processed through accounts associated with these groups.

The plaintiffs also argued that billions of dollars in trading activity with Iranian users indirectly benefited groups linked to the attacks.

Judge Vargas concluded that the allegations did not demonstrate that Binance or Zhao intentionally supported the operations.

In her ruling, she stated that the plaintiffs had not plausibly shown the defendants “culpably associated themselves with these terrorist attacks” or acted in a way that helped bring them about.

The judge added that the connection between the exchange and the alleged actors appeared limited to standard customer relationships.

According to the ruling, the groups or their affiliates simply held accounts and conducted transactions on Binance in what the court described as an “arms’ length relationship.”

Vargas also criticized the scale of the lawsuit, noting that the complaint stretched across 891 pages and included more than 3,100 paragraphs.

Despite the seriousness of the accusations, she described the filing as unnecessarily lengthy.

The court allowed the plaintiffs the opportunity to revise and refile their complaint.

In court filings, Binance and Zhao rejected the accusations and reiterated their condemnation of terrorism. Zhao also argued that the lawsuit attempted to capitalize on the exchange’s earlier legal troubles.

Binance reached a settlement with US authorities in November 2023, agreeing to pay $4.32 billion in penalties after pleading guilty to violations involving anti-money-laundering and sanctions laws.

Binance Denies Iranian Sanctions Violations in Response to US Senate Probe

On Friday, Binance rejected allegations that it violated Iranian sanctions in a letter responding to an inquiry from US Senator Richard Blumenthal.

The probe followed a Wall Street Journal report claiming the platform processed roughly $1.7 billion in transactions linked to Iranian entities and sanctions-evasion activity connected to Russia.

In its response, Binance called the reporting “false” and unsupported by credible evidence. The exchange said it takes regulatory obligations seriously and disputed claims that it knowingly facilitated transactions tied to sanctioned parties.

Binance also stated that it investigated two Hong Kong-based partners mentioned in the report, Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust.

According to the company, internal reviews were launched after law enforcement inquiries, leading to the removal of Hexa Whale from the platform in August 2025 and Blessed Trust in January 2026 as part of its compliance process.

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