U.S. Senator Urges Treasury and Justice Departments to Investigate Binance's Relationship with Trump

On May 9th, as per Bloomberg, a coalition of Democratic senators in the US (including Senator Chris Van Hollen from Maryland and Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts) dispatched a joint letter to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General, seeking an investigation into the linkage between Binance and the Trump family's digital asset project. The letter pointed out that the Abu Dhabi investment firm MXG completed a $1 billion investment in Binance in March through a USD-backed stablecoin under the control of the Trump family, giving rise to concerns regarding compliance risks. In 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering regulations, and CZ has been incarcerated for four months. On May 9th, the Democratic senators just invoked the "Preventing Current Government Officials from Profiting from Crypto Projects" clause to temporarily postpone the passage of the "Stablecoin Act." The joint letter requested the Treasury and Justice Departments to offer three explanations by May 21st: the progress of Binance's compliance agreement, the timetable for withdrawing from the US market, and whether there have been discussions regarding pardoning CZ. According to The Wall Street Journal, representatives of the Trump family had engaged in negotiations regarding investments in Binance.US (which CZ had previously refuted). The letter stated: "The notion that the current administration might permit Binance to continue operating and expanding in the US is highly concerning, especially considering the company's repeated disregard for federal laws and regulations aimed at safeguarding the safety of Americans."