Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has asked the Department of Justice and FinCEN for updates on the status of the monitors overseeing Binance, citing concerns about the exchange’s compliance program and allegations of weak anti-money laundering controls, according to The Guardian. luck Preparing reports.
In messages sent on Friday, Blumenthal noted this Reports of cryptocurrency flows linked to Iran and questioned whether Binance’s oversight structure is working as intended.
As part of a 2023 settlement tied to sanctions and money laundering violations, the exchange agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine and accept two independent monitors — one reporting to the Justice Department and the other to FinCEN — to oversee compliance reforms starting in 2024.
The senator’s investigation comes in the wake of media reports alleging this Internal investigators at Binance after reporting more than $1 billion in transactions linked to Iranian wallets, a claim the company disputes.
It also comes amid broader scrutiny of federal surveillance operations, which have faced criticism over effectiveness and cost, and reports that the Justice Department has reconsidered or paused some corporate oversight programs.
Senate Democrats are urging an investigation into the Department of Justice and Binance Treasury as well
Earlier this year, in a letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Besent, a group of U.S. senators Named for a “rapid and comprehensive review” of Binance’s compliance with sanctions and anti-money laundering controls, citing renewed concerns about the exchange’s handling of illicit financing risks.
The letter, led by Senator Mark Warner and joined by Senator Elizabeth Warren along with Senators Chris Van Hollen, Jack Reed, Catherine Cortez Masto, Tina Smith, Raphael Warnock, Andy Kim, Ruben Gallego, Lisa Blunt Rochester, and Angela Alsobrooks, cites internal compliance findings that reportedly identify nearly $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency transactions linked to Iranian actors, similar to Blumenthal’s investigation.
According to the senators, one case involved a Binance vendor facilitating $1.2 billion in transfers linked to entities linked to Iran. The letter also claims that Iranian users have accessed more than 1,500 Binance accounts and that the platform may also have been used by Russian actors to circumvent sanctions.
Lawmakers also raised concerns that employees who reported suspicious activity would be fired and that Binance would become less responsive to law enforcement requests, which could undermine obligations under the 2023 plea agreement.
Formerly Binance He begged Guilty of federal violations involving sanctions violations and anti-money laundering failures, approving more than $4 billion in sanctions and committing to extensive compliance reforms under U.S. oversight, including strengthening know-your-customer and sanctions-screening systems.
The senators believe that the latest allegations raise serious questions about whether these reforms have been effectively implemented and sustainable, warning that allowing such flows would conflict with Binance’s obligations to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
