Binance Responds To U.S. Senate Probe, Denies Iran Sanctions Violations

Binance issued a formal response today to a U.S. Senate inquiry examining potential Iran sanctions exposure on its platform. The response addressed a February 24 letter from U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, following media reports questioning the exchange’s compliance controls. Binance rejected those claims, defended its sanctions program, and detailed investigations involving two flagged entities.

Binance Addresses Iran Sanctions Claims 

Binance sent the response to U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The letter was also copied to Senator Ron Johnson, the subcommittee’s chairman. It answered Blumenthal’s February inquiry about sanctions compliance and anti-money-laundering controls.

The reports raised questions about the platform’s exposure to Iranian entities. However, Binance said the claims were false and unsupported by credible evidence. Eleanor Hughes, Binance’s general counsel, said the company voluntarily responded to the letter, disputing allegations from the Wall Street Journal.

The exchange said it maintains strict Know Your Customer procedures. It also prohibits users residing or located in Iran from accessing the platform. Binance added that identity verification remains mandatory for every account.

In the company report, the exchange also addressed claims about Iranian-linked accounts. According to Binance, it never determined that 2,000 Iranian accounts existed on the exchange. Instead, the figure may relate to efforts targeting VPN circumvention attempts.

Investigations Led to Removal of Flagged Entities

The Senate inquiry also focused on two trading entities, Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust. According to Binance, both had indirect exposure to wallet addresses with possible Iranian connections. However, Binance said no account directly transacted with an Iran-based entity.

Law enforcement first contacted Binance in April 2025 about transactions involving external wallet addresses. Authorities suggested those wallets could have links to terrorist financing. Binance then launched a broader internal review.

Investigators examined account activity and related transaction histories. Binance also provided law enforcement with user logs and Know Your Customer information. The top crypto exchange later removed Hexa Whale from the platform on August 13, 2025.

A separate law enforcement request arrived during the summer of 2025 involving other wallet addresses. Binance again supplied the requested transaction records and account information. The company also conducted additional source-of-funds analysis.

After completing that investigation, Binance offboarded Blessed Trust in January 2026. The company said investigators continued reviewing activity even after responding to authorities.

Compliance Data and Employee Claims Addressed

Binance also described its compliance operations and enforcement activity. According to the company, it invested hundreds of millions of dollars into compliance infrastructure in recent years. Those efforts expanded investigative capacity across the platform.

The exchange said its compliance division now includes more than 1,500 employees globally. Many specialize in sanctions enforcement, financial crime investigations, and counterterrorism financing oversight. Binance also uses more than 25 monitoring tools for customer due diligence.

In addition to the Iran allegations, the exchange said it processed more than 71,000 law enforcement requests during 2025 alone. Over three years, it helped authorities seize more than $752 million in assets.

The company also cited analytics data tracking exposure to illicit wallets. According to Binance, that exposure dropped from 0.284 percent of exchange volume in January 2024. By July 2025, it had declined to 0.009 percent.

Personnel matters also appeared in the letter. The firm confirmed that some compliance staff and contractors recently left the company. However, it denied claims that terminations resulted from escalating compliance concerns.

The company said one employee lost their position after sharing internal user information without authorization. Binance described the action as a violation of internal privacy policies governing customer data.