Sen. Blumenthal Probes Binance Over Iran, Russia Sanctions Claims

• The letter from Blumenthal also accused Binance of avoiding clear warning signs, permitting potentially illegal accounts to function. 
• Binance has officially denied that it intentionally facilitated sanctions evasion or that its compliance staff were punished for raising concerns. 

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal publicised a formal Senate inquiry into Binance after the latest news reports unveiled that the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange reportedly facilitated around ₹1.7 billion in transactions associated with sanctioned Iranian bodies and Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers. 

The ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations wrote a letter to Binance CEO Richard Teng, demanding documents and records posting the circumstances revolving around the illegal transfers and why compliance personnel who unveiled the activity were allegedly suspended or dismissed. 

It is interesting to note that the investigation comes not long after Binance publicised that it has sharply declined its exposure to sanctioned bodies, posting around a 96% fall in the linked activity between early 2024 and mid-2025. 

The Denial of The Claims 

The exchange has claimed that sanctions-associated transactions now account for a small fraction of overall trading volume. As per the reports from the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, the internal investigators from Binance found more than 1,500 accounts acquired from Iran and tracked funds delivered via intermediaries, comprising Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust, to bodies associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and payments to personnel on Russian ships evading sanctions. 

The letter from Blumenthal also accused Binance of avoiding clear warning signs, permitting potentially illegal accounts to function, and even reportedly offering support to money-laundering bodies, regardless of a 2023 settlement with U.S. authorities that needed enhanced anti-money-laundering controls.

The inquiry from the senator also sources concerns regarding the reported firing of internal investigators who indicated the activity raised questions regarding corporate compliance culture. 

Binance has officially denied that it intentionally facilitated sanctions evasion or that its compliance staff were punished for raising concerns, mentioning flagged accounts were separated and that it cooperates with regulators. 

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