Sukhrob Oimakhmadov, a Tajik businessman classified by Binance as a high-value customer, received more than $10 million through his account from wallets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.
The designation brought lower fees and personalised service, while making the account a priority for retention. Binance records also documented repeated access from Tehran between late 2024 and 2025.
US and Swiss law-enforcement officials scrutinised the account over transactions with an Iranian money changer and the repeated access from Tehran. Senior approval was required before the account could be removed, delaying action despite the scrutiny.
Binance blocked the account in late 2025 and removed it entirely in May 2026.
Oimakhmadov’s account was linked to a cryptocurrency firm operated by Babak Zanjani, an Iranian financier designated by the US Treasury under sanctions authorities. The account was part of a network involving 21 individual and corporate Binance accounts, connected through affiliated businesses, shell companies and multiple trading accounts.
A Binance internal investigation found that the network moved about $850 million through Binance accounts. At least $67 million moved from two accounts to digital wallets associated with the IRGC. Some of the funds came from wallets later identified by Israel’s Defense Ministry as connected to the IRGC.
Zedcex, a crypto platform linked to Zanjani, processed nearly $830 million in transactions through its accounts. About $56 million was withdrawn to wallets tied to the IRGC-linked network. The network also involved Turkey-based ZedPay, which allegedly converted Iranian oil revenues into crypto to bypass traditional banking channels.
The Justice Department has alleged that Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale used Binance accounts to launder more than $1.5 billion in Iranian oil proceeds. It is seeking forfeiture of about $61 million in cryptocurrency.
Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 to US anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations, and agreed to pay about $4.3 billion. Federal prosecutors are investigating whether the exchange knowingly allowed trading that violated Iran sanctions. Manhattan prosecutors lead the reported probe, with the Justice Department’s Criminal Division participating.
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