US Court Dismisses Terrorism Financing Lawsuit Against Binance, CZ

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a lawsuit that accused Binance, former CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao and Binance.US operator BAM Trading Services of helping terrorist groups move funds. The plaintiffs represented 535 individuals linked to victims of 64 attacks between 2016 and 2024, incidents attributed to Hezbollah, Hamas, ISIS, al-Qaeda and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Judge Jeannette A. Vargas found the complaint did not plausibly link the exchange’s conduct to the specific attacks. While the filing described alleged compliance failures and illicit activity on the platform, the court said the plaintiffs failed to establish a sufficient connection between Binance’s operations and the attacks, effectively ending the case at the pleading stage.

The judge also said that "any amended complaint shall be due within 60 days." Zhao took to X after the ruling, saying centralized exchanges have "zero motive" to assist terrorists.

United States, Southern District of New York

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