Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has made waves after revealing he was threatened to pay $4.4 billion or face fabricated media stories accusing the exchange of supporting terrorist organizations.
In a post on X on October 2, CZ claimed the demand was part of a series of opportunistic lawsuits targeting him and Binance, particularly after the company’s 2023 plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice. “One person threatened that if I didn’t pay $4.4 billion, they would push the media to publish fake stories like ‘Binance helped terrorists,’” CZ wrote.
Mounting Legal Disputes
The allegations against Binance stem from the Hamas assault on Israel in October 2023, which left over 1,200 people dead and more than 200 taken hostage. More than 40 plaintiffs – relatives of the victims – filed a lawsuit accusing Binance and CZ of facilitating fundraising for Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
However, in late September 2025, a U.S. federal court ruled that CZ had not been “properly served.” Attempts to serve him electronically via email and social media were rejected, as he resides in the UAE and Binance has no permanent headquarters. The decision temporarily shields CZ from direct litigation, though Binance remains a named defendant.
CZ quickly reacted: “We always choose to fight for justice. I am grateful and glad to see this decision.”
A Troubled Compliance History
Binance has long faced scrutiny from U.S. regulators over its lax compliance. According to filings by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), former chief compliance officer Samuel Lim admitted in 2019 that the platform had been used to transfer funds to Hamas, though he downplayed the sums as “barely enough to buy an AK-47.”
The U.S. Treasury Department later explicitly accused Binance of enabling illicit actors to move funds freely. In late 2023, it named Hamas, Al Qaeda, PIJ, and ISIS among the groups that had moved money through the exchange. That same year, Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties as part of a settlement with U.S. authorities. CZ also personally pleaded guilty to failing to enforce adequate anti-money laundering (AML) controls and was fined $50 million.
From the Richest Inmate to a Legal Target
In April 2024, CZ was sentenced to four months in prison. As part of his plea deal, he was barred from serving as Binance’s CEO. Remarkably, during his time behind bars, his personal fortune grew to over $60 billion, making him the wealthiest inmate in U.S. history. He was released in late September 2024.
Now, however, with civil lawsuits still advancing, the former Binance chief remains under intense pressure from accusations of terror financing — and from what he insists are billion-dollar extortion attempts designed solely for profit.
