U.S. Senate Democrats Call for Probe of Binance’s Illicit-Finance Controls

Binance reached a compliance monitoring agreement with the US Treasury in 2023, pledging to strengthen its anti-money laundering controls and sanctions screening. The case could determine whether major global crypto exchanges can identify sanctioned funds and prevent digital asset platforms from becoming channels for evading US financial sanctions.

The US Treasury recently sent Binance a private letter demanding strict compliance with the 2023 agreement. The move followed reports that the exchange may have processed more than $1 billion in Iran-linked transactions. Regulators are therefore scrutinizing Binance’s sanctions screening and monitoring capabilities and demanding that it implement the compliance measures under the existing plan.

Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering and US sanctions rules, agreeing to a $4.3 billion settlement and subsequent reviews by two independent monitors for the US Department of Justice and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Suspected fund flows to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Yemen’s Houthi movement and Russia’s shadow fleet raise questions about whether Binance has honored its settlement commitments and whether US sanctions are effective.

Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent Binance a letter on February 24, 2026, seeking records on sanctions controls, internal alerts and the dismissal of investigators. Reports said about $1.7 billion flowed to Iran-linked entities and that Iranians could access more than 1,500 accounts. Binance said its direct dealings with four Iranian exchanges totaled only $110,000 in 2025. The Justice Department opened an investigation in March.