Court Dismisses All Claims Against Binance
A U.S. Federal Court has dismissed all claims against crypto exchange Binance in a major anti-terrorism lawsuit. The court rejected allegations that the company assisted or conspired with terrorists, marking a decisive legal victory for the world's largest crypto exchange.
The lawsuit was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas in Manhattan, who ruled that the 535 plaintiffs did not plausibly demonstrate that Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, intentionally aided in 64 global attacks between 2017 and 2024. The judge found the connection between the exchange and the alleged terrorist groups was limited to them simply holding accounts on the platform. The plaintiffs, including victims and their families, had accused Binance of facilitating transactions for organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, al Qaeda, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The lawsuit sought to hold Binance liable for allegedly transferring hundreds of millions of dollars for these groups and processing billions in transactions with Iranian users that purportedly benefited the attackers. This civil case is separate from Binance's November 2023 settlement, where the company agreed to a $4.32 billion criminal penalty for violating U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. Lawyers for Binance and Zhao argued that the plaintiffs were attempting to use the prior admission of regulatory violations as a basis to claim triple damages under the Anti-Terrorism Act. [cite
