Senate Inquiry: Binance CEO Receives New Letter Amid Concerns Of Misrepresentations
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 change 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 offered “misrepresentations or deceptive data to the Subcommittee and to the general public,” and he demanded paperwork and data the corporate relied on in making ready 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 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 Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), raised “additional alarms about its candor and compliance with Congressional oversight.”
Blumenthal’s letter lays out a protracted record of particular questions and data requests. He requested Binance to reveal whether or not any accounts despatched or acquired 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 have been later related to Iranian exchanges.
Blumenthal additionally pressed the crypto change on inner 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 indirect 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 can be purchased, shared, or stolen).
Relatedly, he requested whether or not Binance had ever disciplined compliance workers who raised issues internally or offered data to regulation enforcement or exterior companions, noting reviews 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 regulation enforcement warnings. He mentioned Binance took two months to answer regulation enforcement concerning alleged terrorist financing by entities akin to Hexa Whale and one other two months to take away an implicated shell entity.
He additionally alleged it took at the least 5 months for Binance to take away Blessed Trust as a vendor after being warned about its position in suspected terrorist financing.
Blumenthal wrote that Binance appeared, in some instances, to have labeled certain accounts with inner tags like “Don’t block. Internal accounts,” which he mentioned ought to have signaled the necessity for heightened scrutiny slightly than safety from enforcement.
He requested for actual dates exhibiting when the businesses and other people concerned opened Binance accounts, began sending funds to Iranian intermediaries, have been reported to US regulation enforcement, and once they have 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 data.
Featured picture from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
