US Senator Investigates Binance for Allegedly Sending $1.7 Billion to Iranian Entity

February 25th — U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee top Democrat Richard Blumenthal has launched a probe into Binance over suspected sanctions violations. Blumenthal sent a letter to the crypto exchange asking about alleged $1.7 billion transfers to Iran-linked organizations, and requesting transaction records between entities involved in the suspected transfers, as well as records of suspended or dismissed compliance staff. U.S. investigators have identified two entities that transferred funds to Iran. A Binance spokesperson responded in a letter, noting The New York Times’ prior report was inaccurate. Binance emphasized it has strict KYC (Know Your Customer) and compliance processes, and no Iranian users are on its platform. The spokesperson also reaffirmed that claims from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune about the dismissal of four investigators are false. Yesterday, Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng posted on social media: “Recent reports have misrepresented Binance’s compliance projects. The Wall Street Journal published defamatory remarks, and despite our attempts to clarify the facts, the journalist has not responded to any of our corrections. Binance has sent the attached letter requesting immediate correction and full retraction of these false statements.”