CoinEx Denies Ties to Iran, Says It Strictly Manages Sanctions and Money-Laundering Risks

Crypto exchange CoinEx pushed back on a Wall Street Journal report, saying it has never worked with Iranian government-linked entities or local Iranian exchanges.

Odaily reported on June 25 that CoinEx said in a statement it does not provide services to sanctioned entities or individuals. The exchange said it has never knowingly provided any form of facilitation to sanctioned parties in response to the Journal's recent allegations involving Iran-related transactions.

CoinEx is a global crypto exchange founded in 2017 by ViaBTC founder Haipo Yang. The statement came after the Journal mentioned transactions involving Alireza Derakhshan and Zedcex/Zanjani.

Derakhshan is under US sanctions over allegations that he processed proceeds from Iranian crude oil sales through cryptocurrency. Zedcex is a digital-asset exchange alleged to be linked to Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani. Zanjani has previously been sanctioned by the US over Iran sanctions-evasion networks.

CoinEx said the transactions at issue, based on the information it has reviewed so far, took place before the US Treasury sanctioned those parties. It also said it has never entered into any commercial partnership with Iranian government-related institutions or local Iranian exchanges. The company added that it has never provided funding channels or active support to Iranian government agencies, entities tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or other sanctioned parties.

The exchange also said it was placed on an Iranian government blacklist in 2021 and that its official domain was blocked in Iran. CoinEx said that shows it is not a platform recognized, supported or partnered with by the Iranian government. It added that there is no practical basis for it to serve as an official funding channel for Iran.

CoinEx also said it has never had an office or operating entity in Iran. While some individuals may have promoted the platform voluntarily, the company said that was not part of any organized effort by CoinEx.

The company said it firmly rejects narratives that conflate ordinary user activity with state-level sanctions evasion. It also rejected the inference that on-chain fund flows alone should be treated as proof that a platform was aware of, supported or participated in illicit activity.

Regarding the Bybit hack, CoinEx said it helped block accounts and freeze assets immediately after the incident. The company also said it will conduct an internal review of the transactions cited in the report.

CoinEx said it began a full review and withdrawal process tied to Iran-related risk exposure after local Iranian exchanges such as Nobitex were sanctioned. As part of that process, it is rejecting registrations from users in Iran, strengthening efforts to identify Iranian users and continuing compliance-driven account closures for confirmed Iranian users.

It also said it is imposing geographic access restrictions on Iran and will restrict or freeze the accounts and assets of confirmed sanctioned entities or individuals. CoinEx added that it has strengthened its know-your-transaction, or KYT, system to monitor transactions linked to sanctioned regions, high-risk addresses and unusual on-chain routes, and to freeze assets when necessary.

CoinEx said it places a high priority on compliance, anti-money laundering and sanctions risk management in the digital-asset industry. It added that it has a responsibility to provide users and partners with clear and objective answers.