A new wave of allegations is again pulling Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder of Binance, back into the centre of global scrutiny.
Here is everything publicly known about the situation so far.👇
The latest claim originates from a X post by @DefiWimar, referencing a newly published Financial Times report.
According to the post, CZ is now being accused of “helping send money to Hamas”, a statement that immediately ignited fears of another market shock.
The post includes an image of the FT article along with a direct link, which confirms that a new civil complaint has been filed in a United States federal court.
According to the Financial Times, the plaintiffs are families of victims of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
They allege that CZ and Binance facilitated payments that supported the attack, and they are seeking damages under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Importantly, this is a civil complaint, not a new criminal charge. Civil suits carry a lower burden of proof, focus on damages, and operate independently of any presidential pardon.
This distinction matters because @cz_binance received a presidential pardon from Donald #Trump on October 23, 2025 for his earlier federal conviction related to anti-money-laundering violations.
A pardon, however, shields against criminal punishment but does not block private civil litigation.
The context behind this case is crucial.
This is not the first time #Binance and CZ have faced accusations of enabling flows linked to sanctioned or terrorist organisations.
In November 2023, Binance and CZ pleaded guilty to significant federal charges in the United States.
Prosecutors and regulators stated at the time that Binance violated anti-money-laundering requirements, operated without proper licensing, and processed transactions involving Iran, ISIS, Hamas and other high-risk entities.
The settlement totalled USD 4.3 billion, one of the largest financial penalties in U.S. history for violations of this type.
As part of the plea agreement, CZ stepped down as CEO and later served a four-month federal prison sentence beginning in April 2024.
In February 2024, a separate civil lawsuit was filed against Binance (though not initially against CZ personally) by hostages and families of victims of the October 7 attack.
That lawsuit alleged that Binance acted as a funding mechanism for Hamas between 2017 and 2023 by failing to implement proper controls and allowing transactions that should have been flagged or blocked. This earlier case forms part of the broader pattern now resurfacing in the new complaint.
The new lawsuit, however, directly targets CZ following his return to public life after the pardon.
It claims that Binance’s long-standing compliance failures, combined with CZ’s personal leadership decisions, directly enabled the movement of funds connected to Hamas.
Although the complaint is civil rather than criminal, it carries reputational and potentially financial risk. Civil suits require proving that CZ and Binance offered “substantial assistance” or “knowingly facilitated” harmful activities, even if there is no claim that they intended to support terrorism.
As of now, neither CZ nor Binance has issued a public response.
The case is still in its early stages and was filed in a U.S. federal court similar to earlier proceedings.
Whether it will materially impact CZ’s legal future is unclear, but the implications for his legacy, Binance’s reputation, and broader market trust could be significant.
Taken together, the pattern is increasingly hard to ignore.
Binance and CZ have a documented history of compliance failures, acknowledged in official guilty pleas.
Regulators have previously stated that Binance’s lack of proper controls allowed money tied to sanctioned and terrorist groups to flow through the platform.
Whether the new allegations can be fully proven in court remains to be seen.
But the fact that these claims keep resurfacing, backed by serious plaintiffs and major media outlets, highlights the shadow still hanging over CZ’s leadership.
This new complaint does not exist in isolation.
It reflects a growing global pressure on Binance and a legacy of regulatory breaches that continue to follow CZ, even after his pardon.
The unanswered question is not only whether CZ helped facilitate illicit flows, but whether the entire architecture he built made such flows predictable, preventable and ultimately harmful.
For now, the crypto world watches again as CZ faces another high-stakes chapter in a saga that refuses to end.
- by $MASTR crypto project
