- Binance denies firing workers over sanctions circumstances, calls WSJ report defamatory and inaccurate.
- Compliance publicity to Iranian exchanges dropped 97% from January 2024 to January 2026.
- Binance maintains 1,500+ compliance-focused workers and strong world oversight measures.
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng has taken on the Wall Road Journal instantly. He referred to as the publication’s latest compliance report defamatory.
Teng shared a authorized letter demanding corrections and a full retraction. The letter got here after what he described as a failure to acknowledge factual corrections. The dispute has put certainly one of crypto’s largest exchanges again within the highlight.
What the Wall Road Journal Really Reported
The WSJ report made claims towards Binance. It alleged that executives shut down an inside probe into $1 billion in transfers linked to Iran-backed teams.
In line with the report, the probe was dismantled weeks after former CEO Changpeng Zhao acquired a presidential pardon. The WSJ additionally claimed the workers who uncovered the transfers had been later fired.
A Binance spokeswoman pushed again on that particular level. She instructed the WSJ the staff weren’t let go for elevating compliance considerations.
Their exits had been based mostly on particular person circumstances, she stated. The investigation, she added, did proceed and led to the flagged accounts being faraway from the platform.
How Teng and Binance Responded to the Claims
Teng posted the agency’s authorized letter publicly on X. He stated the journalist had acquired solutions to 27 detailed questions. These solutions, Teng alleged, had been selectively ignored.
He described the protection as a distorted account constructed on statements from disgruntled former workers.
Not too long ago there was inaccurate reporting about our compliance program.
The Wall Road Journal revealed defamatory claims, and regardless of our efforts to set the document straight, the journalist did not acknowledge any of our corrections on the allegations. We’ve despatched the… pic.twitter.com/rgl7KrwqUL
— Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) February 24, 2026
Binance additionally revealed a weblog submit defending its compliance program. The submit pointed to arduous numbers. Sanctions-related publicity dropped from 0.284% of whole alternate quantity in January 2024 to simply 0.009% by July 2025. That may be a 96.8% lower.
The agency stated direct publicity to main Iranian exchanges fell by greater than 97.3% over the identical interval.
Binance’s Compliance Program by the Numbers
Binance used the second to element the scale of its compliance operation. As of early 2026, the agency employs 593 full-time workers inside its compliance unit.
One other 978 individuals work in compliance-related roles throughout different departments. In whole, over 1,500 people deal with compliance features. That’s roughly 25% of the corporate’s complete world workforce.
The agency additionally famous it holds licenses and registrations in 20 jurisdictions. In 2025, Binance processed greater than 71,000 legislation enforcement requests worldwide. Its groups additionally supported authorities in confiscating over $131 million tied to illicit exercise.
Binance referred to as these figures proof that its system is working.
Why the Fired Workers’ Declare Is Central to the Story
The termination allegations sit on the coronary heart of the dispute. The WSJ framed the firings as retaliation towards compliance workers. Binance flatly denied that framing.
The corporate stated some workers left after an inside evaluate discovered that they had breached knowledge safety and confidentiality pointers.
Binance maintained that compliance investigations run independently. Govt management and shareholders, it stated, can not intervene. The agency pressured that its selections comply with authorized process, not industrial curiosity.
Whether or not regulators and oversight screens settle for that clarification stays to be seen, given Binance’s prior $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities in 2023.