Senator Richard Blumenthal has escalated his scrutiny of Binance, sending a observe‑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 might have supplied “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 12 months 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 obtained funds to or from a set of Iran‑linked wallets referenced within the reporting, and to supply the pockets addresses.
He demanded a full, 12 months‑over‑12 months accounting of transactions between Binance and recognized 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 had been later related to Iranian exchanges.
Blumenthal additionally pressed the crypto alternate on inside 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 workers who raised issues internally or supplied info to legislation enforcement or exterior companions, noting experiences 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 legislation enforcement warnings. He mentioned Binance took two months to answer legislation enforcement relating to alleged terrorist financing by entities resembling 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 function in suspected terrorist financing.
Blumenthal wrote that Binance appeared, in some instances, to have labeled sure accounts with inside 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 exhibiting when the businesses and other people concerned opened Binance accounts, began sending funds to Iranian intermediaries, had been reported to US legislation enforcement, and after they had 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 12 months to show over information.
Featured picture from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
