A federal judge in Manhattan has thrown out a civil lawsuit accusing Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and its founder Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ, of facilitating financing for multiple terrorist attacks globally. This development represents a significant win for the Seychelles-based exchanges, whose commitment to AML/CFT principles has recently come under serious scrutiny.
Binance Not Accomplice To Terror Attack Despite Illicit Transactions, Court RulesThe complainants sued for compensation and damages, claiming that CZ and Binance allowed these FTOs, including Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, to move hundreds of millions of dollars in digital assets, thereby funding 64 terrorist attacks in the world. Meanwhile, they also accused Binance of allowing Iranian citizens to send billions of dollars on the exchange despite an existing US sanction that prohibits services to all residents of the Middle Eastern country.
Nevertheless, the plaintiffs have been granted 60 days to file an amended complaint, which could be presented with more concrete data centered around transaction timing, wallet owners, and possible relationships with the listed attacks.
Binance Drowning In AML/CFT Compliance ChecksMeanwhile, Senator Chris Van Hollen, alongside nine other lawmakers, has urged the US Department of Justice and Treasury to launch a broader probe into Binance’s sanctions and AML compliance practices. This flurry of attacks comes two years after the exchange secured an initial plea deal of $4.3 billion from both agencies after failing to implement a required anti-money laundering control system on its platform.
