Senator Richard Blumenthal has escalated his scrutiny of Binance, sending a follow‑up letter on April 1 to co‑CEO Richard Teng that presses the crypto exchange to explain apparent discrepancies between its testimony to the Senate and subsequent media reporting about transactions tied to Iran.
The New Haven Democrat said he is concerned that Binance may have provided “misrepresentations or misleading information to the Subcommittee and to the public,” and he demanded documents and records the company relied on in preparing its earlier responses.
Senate Probe Seeks Wallets, Transactions, And Answers
Blumenthal’s letter comes after reporting by Fortune and The New York Times that traced roughly $1.7 billion in flows from Binance‑linked accounts to entities with ties to Iran, a far larger sum than the $110,000 figure Binance cited last year for direct transactions with four major Iranian exchanges.
The senator said that gap, together with Binance’s partial or delayed production of materials requested by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), raised “further alarms about its candor and compliance with Congressional oversight.”
Blumenthal’s letter lays out a long list of specific questions and records requests. He asked Binance to disclose whether any accounts sent or received funds to or from a set of Iran‑linked wallets referenced in the reporting, and to provide the wallet addresses.
He demanded a full, year‑over‑year accounting of transactions between Binance and known Iranian exchanges, and asked to explain the methodology it used to calculate the $110,000 figure, including whether it counted transfers that were later associated with Iranian exchanges.
Blumenthal also pressed the crypto exchange on internal compliance practices. He asked whether Binance has removed, weakened, or relaxed any detection, screening, freezing, or reporting mechanisms since January 1, 2025, including tools designed to spot illicit indirect transfers.
He sought clarity on whether Binance has ever declined to investigate, suspend, or remove accounts tied to individuals inside Iran — including those using VPNs or “drop accounts” (KYC‑verified accounts that are bought, shared, or stolen).
Relatedly, he asked whether Binance had ever disciplined compliance staff who raised concerns internally or provided information to law enforcement or external partners, noting reports that Binance had dismissed personnel for “unauthorized disclosure.”
Binance Given April 14 Deadline
The senator further criticized what he characterized as delayed or inadequate action by Binance in response to law enforcement warnings. He said Binance took two months to respond to law enforcement regarding alleged terrorist financing by entities such as Hexa Whale and another two months to remove an implicated shell entity.
He also alleged it took at least five months for Binance to remove Blessed Trust as a vendor after being warned about its role in suspected terrorist financing.
Blumenthal wrote that Binance appeared, in some cases, to have labeled certain accounts with internal tags like “Don’t block. Internal accounts,” which he said should have signaled the need for heightened scrutiny rather than protection from enforcement.
He asked for exact dates showing when the companies and people involved opened Binance accounts, started sending funds to Iranian intermediaries, were reported to US law enforcement, and when they were suspended or removed.
The Senator also demanded explanations for any delays between being notified and taking action. Blumenthal invoked Senate rules and gave Binance until April 14 of this year to turn over records.
Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
