Binance's Risky Account Management Amid $4.3 Billion Plea Bargain

Binance has reportedly continued to allow a series of dubious accounts to transfer funds even after the exchange committed to enhance oversight as part of its $4.3 billion settlement in the US in 2023.

According to internal documents reviewed by the Financial Times, a group of 13 user accounts facilitated approximately $1.7 billion in transactions since 2021, including around $144 million following the plea agreement in November 2023.

The files reportedly contained Know-Your-Customer (KYC) documents, IP and device logs, and transaction records for users based in regions including Venezuela, Brazil, Syria, Niger, and China.

Experts in regulation and anti-money laundering (AML) expressed concerns about the effectiveness of Binance’s compliance measures since the deal was made.

Binance had not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.

Suspicious Account Activities

One instance highlighted involved a Binance account associated with a 25-year-old woman from Venezuela, which saw inflows exceeding $177 million over a two-year period and, astonishingly, altered its linked bank information 647 times in just 14 months.

Former prosecutors mentioned to the Financial Times that such red flags would typically be viewed as highly suspicious, revealing possible links to an unlicensed money-transmitting operation.

Another account, reportedly linked to a junior bank employee from a struggling area of Caracas, recorded approximately $93 million moving in and out between 2022 and May 2025. Internal logs indicated activity from both Caracas and Osaka in less than ten hours—an occurrence deemed impossible under normal circumstances.

Nick Heather, trading chief at ONE.io, highlighted the significance of adaptive governance frameworks within digital asset markets, stating, “When accounts displaying repeated red flags remain active, that points to an escalation and oversight challenge rather than one of market structure… robust governance, sanctions screening, and post-trade surveillance are essential.”

These 13 accounts displayed numerous warning signs of suspicious behavior, collectively receiving around $29 million in stablecoin USDt (USDT) from wallets that had been subsequently frozen under Israeli anti-terrorism statutes.

Context of Plea Deal and Trump Pardon

In its 2023 plea agreement, Binance committed to deploying real-time monitoring, rigorous due diligence, and frequent customer assessments to identify suspicious activity.

At that time, US authorities accused Binance of failing to report over 100,000 suspicious transactions involving serious illicit activities, such as ransomware, child sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and connections with groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS.

This report from the Financial Times follows the revelation that US President Donald Trump had granted a pardon to Binance founder Changpeng Zhao earlier in October.