Last updated on March 5th, 2026 at 07:36 pm
A senior U.S. lawmaker has opened a formal Senate investigation into Binance following reports that the crypto exchange processed nearly $1.7 billion in transactions tied to sanctioned Iranian entities and Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.”
Richard Blumenthal announced the inquiry this week, escalating scrutiny of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange amid fresh allegations of sanctions evasion and compliance failures.
Blumenthal demands internal records
In a letter addressed to Binance CEO Richard Teng, Blumenthal, the ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, asked for detailed records explaining how the alleged transactions happened and how the company responded.
Recently there has been inaccurate reporting about our compliance program.
The Wall Street Journal published defamatory claims, and despite our efforts to set the record straight, the journalist failed to acknowledge any of our corrections on the allegations. We have sent the… pic.twitter.com/rgl7KrwqUL
— Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) February 24, 2026
The inquiry focuses not only on the reported $1.7 billion in transfers but also on claims that compliance personnel who flagged suspicious activity were suspended or dismissed.
According to reporting by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, Binance investigators identified more than 1,500 accounts allegedly accessed from Iran. Funds were reportedly routed through intermediaries, including Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust, with links traced to entities connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and to payments associated with Russian vessels attempting to bypass sanctions.
“Binance is a repeat offender,”
Blumenthal wrote, accusing the exchange of allowing the Iranian regime and its proxies to use the platform to circumvent sanctions, anti-money-laundering controls and other banking restrictions.
Compliance claims under the microscope
Binance recently said it has greatly reduced its exposure to sanctioned entities, reporting a 96% drop in related activity from early 2024 to mid-2025. The company says transactions linked to sanctioned parties now make up only a small part of its total trading volume.
Blumenthal’s letter, however, raises questions about whether the company ignored internal warning signs and failed to act decisively even after its 2023 settlement with U.S. authorities, which required stronger anti-money-laundering safeguards.
The senator also raised concerns about reports that internal investigators who flagged possible misconduct were dismissed, suggesting there may be problems with the company’s compliance culture.
Binance has denied knowingly facilitating sanctions evasion and rejected claims that whistleblowers were punished. The company says it offboarded flagged accounts and continues to cooperate with regulators.
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