{"id":74007,"date":"2026-02-26T09:31:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T09:31:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=74007"},"modified":"2026-02-26T09:31:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T09:31:32","slug":"binance-faces-us-senate-inquiry-tied-to-1-7-billion-in-sanctions-related-transactions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=74007","title":{"rendered":"Binance Faces US Senate Inquiry Tied To $1.7 Billion In Sanctions-Related Transactions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is once again facing scrutiny in the United States, this time following a formal inquiry launched by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Senate Demands Records From Binance<\/h2>\n

In a letter <\/a>dated February 24 and addressed to Binance co-CEO Richard Teng, Blumenthal cited reports suggesting the company enabled \u201clarge-scale violations\u201d of US and international sanctions against Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He wrote that the cryptocurrency exchange appears to have disregarded warnings and recommendations designed to prevent Iranian money laundering schemes, allowing approximately $1.7 billion in transfers connected to Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the letter, these transactions allegedly supported Iranian-linked terrorist organizations and helped facilitate illicit Russian oil sales conducted through a so-called \u201cshadow fleet\u201d of tankers.<\/p>\n

Blumenthal is seeking extensive documentation from Binance as part of a preliminary inquiry <\/a>by the Senate\u2019s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The requests include records related to Binance\u2019s role in potential Iranian money laundering, its handling of sanctioned entities, and its compliance practices. The Subcommittee has asked the company to provide materials by March 6, 2026.<\/p>\n

Alleged Findings Of Internal Review<\/h2>\n

The investigation draws on reporting from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Fortune. According <\/a>to those reports, Binance\u2019s internal compliance staff discovered that two partners\u2014Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust\u2014allegedly acted as intermediaries to launder funds and enable trade with Iranian government-linked entities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Internal reviews reportedly identified roughly 2,000 accounts associated with Iranian entities on the exchange, despite US banking restrictions and Binance\u2019s public claims that it prohibits Iranian users.<\/p>\n

Documents obtained by the media outlets further suggest that Binance was warned that Hexa Whale may have been financing terrorist groups such as Yemen\u2019s Houthi movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Internal investigators also reportedly identified cryptocurrency transfers<\/a> to wallets associated with Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and payments to crew members operating vessels in Russia\u2019s sanctions-evading oil fleet.<\/p>\n

Blumenthal\u2019s letter alleges that Binance failed to act decisively despite these warning signs. Investigators within the company reportedly recommended stronger \u201cknow your customer\u201d controls and suggested banning sailors tied to Russia\u2019s shadow fleet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, according to the senator, those efforts were rejected. Binance allegedly granted VIP status to Hexa Whale even though the firm was suspected of using falsified documentation and its staff were said to have been directly involved in Blessed Trust\u2019s questionable trading activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

No Evidence Of Violations?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Binance has firmly rejected the allegations even ahead of Blumenthal\u2019s inquiry. In a February 22 statement<\/a>, the company said it conducted an internal review and found \u201cno evidence of violations of applicable sanctions laws.\u201d It also denied terminating investigators for raising concerns about sanctions-related activity.<\/p>\n

The exchange emphasized that it has significantly strengthened its compliance systems since its 2023 settlement. According to Binance, sanctions-related exposure\u2014measured as a share of overall trading volume\u2014declined from 0.284% in January 2024 to 0.009% by July 2025, representing a 96.8% reduction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The company also reported that transaction volume involving four major Iranian crypto exchanges<\/a> fell from $4.19 million in January 2024 to $1.1 million by January 2026. Binance added that approximately one-quarter of its global workforce is now dedicated to anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance functions.<\/p>\n

\"Binance\"<\/p>\n

At the time of writing, the exchange\u2019s native token, BNB, traded at $616, representing a surge of 5% in the 24-hour time frame amid a slight rebound seen in the broader crypto market on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is once again facing scrutiny in the United States, this time following a formal inquiry launched by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.\u00a0 Senate Demands Records From Binance In a letter dated February 24 and addressed to Binance co-CEO Richard Teng, Blumenthal cited reports suggesting the company enabled \u201clarge-scale violations\u201d of US and international […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5],"class_list":["post-74007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crypto","tag-doge","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=74007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74007\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=74007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=74007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=74007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}