Senator Richard Blumenthal has escalated his scrutiny of Binance, sending a comply with‑up letter on April 1 to co‑CEO Richard Teng that presses the crypto alternate to clarify obvious discrepancies between its testimony to the Senate and subsequent media reporting about transactions tied to Iran.
The New Haven Democrat mentioned he’s involved that Binance could have offered “misrepresentations or deceptive info to the Subcommittee and to the general public,” and he demanded paperwork and information the corporate relied on in getting ready its earlier responses.
Senate Probe Seeks Wallets, Transactions, And Solutions
Blumenthal’s letter comes after reporting by Fortune and The New York Occasions that traced roughly $1.7 billion in flows from Binance‑linked accounts to entities with ties to Iran, a far bigger sum than the $110,000 determine Binance cited final yr for direct transactions with 4 main Iranian exchanges.
The senator mentioned that hole, along with Binance’s partial or delayed manufacturing of supplies requested by the Senate Everlasting Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), raised “additional alarms about its candor and compliance with Congressional oversight.”
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Blumenthal’s letter lays out a protracted listing of particular questions and information requests. He requested Binance to reveal whether or not any accounts despatched or acquired funds to or from a set of Iran‑linked wallets referenced within the reporting, and to offer the pockets addresses.
He demanded a full, yr‑over‑yr accounting of transactions between Binance and identified Iranian exchanges, and requested to clarify the methodology it used to calculate the $110,000 determine, together with whether or not it counted transfers that have been later related to Iranian exchanges.
Blumenthal additionally pressed the crypto alternate on inner compliance practices. He requested whether or not Binance has eliminated, weakened, or relaxed any detection, screening, freezing, or reporting mechanisms since January 1, 2025, together with instruments designed to identify illicit oblique transfers.
He sought readability on whether or not Binance has ever declined to research, droop, or take away accounts tied to people inside Iran — together with these utilizing VPNs or “drop accounts” (KYC‑verified accounts which might be purchased, shared, or stolen).
Relatedly, he requested whether or not Binance had ever disciplined compliance employees who raised considerations internally or offered info to regulation enforcement or exterior companions, noting reviews that Binance had dismissed personnel for “unauthorized disclosure.”
Binance Given April 14 Deadline
The senator additional criticized what he characterised as delayed or insufficient motion by Binance in response to regulation enforcement warnings. He mentioned Binance took two months to answer regulation enforcement relating to alleged terrorist financing by entities corresponding to Hexa Whale and one other two months to take away an implicated shell entity.
He additionally alleged it took at the very least 5 months for Binance to take away Blessed Belief as a vendor after being warned about its position in suspected terrorist financing.
Blumenthal wrote that Binance appeared, in some circumstances, to have labeled sure accounts with inner tags like “Don’t block. Inside accounts,” which he mentioned ought to have signaled the necessity for heightened scrutiny fairly than safety from enforcement.
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He requested for precise dates displaying when the businesses and folks concerned opened Binance accounts, began sending funds to Iranian intermediaries, have been reported to US regulation enforcement, and after they have been suspended or eliminated.
The Senator additionally demanded explanations for any delays between being notified and taking motion. Blumenthal invoked Senate guidelines and gave Binance till April 14 of this yr to show over information.
Featured picture from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com