In a significant legal victory, Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) have successfully defended themselves against serious allegations in a US federal court. The case, which sought to hold them accountable for transactions purportedly linked to terrorist activities, has been dismissed by U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas.
The lawsuit was brought forward by a group of 535 plaintiffs, including victims and relatives affected by various attacks linked to alleged “foreign terrorist organizations.” The plaintiffs claimed that hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency were transferred through Binance to fund 64 attacks worldwide from 2017 to 2024. They contended that billions of dollars in transactions involving Iranian users indirectly benefited the organizations responsible for these acts.
Judge Vargas asserted in her ruling that the plaintiffs failed to provide adequate evidence demonstrating that Binance and Zhao had any direct involvement or knowledge of the alleged terrorist financing. The court highlighted that the relationship between Binance and the parties involved was merely a commercial one, with users opening accounts and trading independently on the platform.
Notably, the ruling described the plaintiffs” complaint as excessively lengthy—comprising 891 pages and 3,189 paragraphs—despite the serious nature of the claims made. While the court has dismissed the case in its current form, it has allowed the plaintiffs the chance to revise and resubmit their complaint.
In response to the court”s ruling, a spokesperson for Binance stated that the decision correctly dismissed the unfounded allegations, emphasizing the company”s commitment to compliance and its zero-tolerance policy towards malicious activities on its platform. Zhao, in previous court documents, condemned terrorism and accused the plaintiffs of attempting to leverage a prior settlement Binance reached with US authorities concerning money laundering and sanctions violations, which involved a penalty of $4.32 billion.
Teresa Goody Guillén, legal counsel for both Binance and Zhao, expressed satisfaction with the court”s decision, noting that all claims presented by the plaintiffs were rejected, reaffirming that neither Zhao nor Binance could be connected to the financing of any terrorist actions.
