**Binance** denied in an official response to inquiries from the U.S. Senate that any accounts on its platform have directly transacted with Iranian entities.
The exchange stated that the media reports that formed the basis of this investigation are “clearly false” and “defamatory,” using expressions that do not help resolve the controversy in which the Senate's top investigative committee has become involved.
In a letter sent to Senator Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut, Democrat), a member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), Binance carefully chose its legal expressions. While acknowledging the discovery of “indirect exposure” to potentially Iranian-linked wallets, Binance asserted that no direct flow of funds to sanctioned entities occurred on its platform.
What happened
Senator Blumenthal initiated a preliminary investigation on February 24. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal (WSJ), and Fortune reported that two Hong Kong-based Binance partners, Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust, transferred approximately $1.7 billion to Iranian-linked entities.
WSJ reported that Hexa Whale alone transferred approximately $500 million worth of USDT to wallets linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the US designates as a terrorist organization.
The New York Times reported that Binance's internal investigation team identified approximately 1,500 accounts accessed from Iran.
Binance stated that it offboarded Hexa Whale in August 2025 and Blessed Trust in January 2026 after receiving requests from law enforcement. They claimed that this action is evidence that their compliance program is functioning properly, not that it has failed.
The exchange also dismissed allegations that it fired compliance personnel who raised issues internally. Fortune reported separately that several senior compliance executives left the company while searching for a successor to Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) Noah Perlman.
Read together: Curve Accuses PancakeSwap Of Copying Its Code Unlicensed - Days After New StableSwap Feature Launch
Why is it important
This investigation began at a politically complicated time. Senator Blumenthal's letter explicitly mentioned the financial relationship between Binance and the cryptocurrency project World Liberty Financial (WLFI), associated with former President Donald Trump, suggesting that this relationship may have influenced the sanctions enforcement decision.
The SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) dropped the lawsuit against Binance in May 2025. Former President Trump pardoned co-founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao after he served four months following Binance's guilty plea to money laundering and sanctions violations from 2023 in October 2025. As a result of this incident, Binance incurred costs of $4.3 billion.
Senator Blumenthal, a member of the Senate minority party (Democratic), stated that if Republican senators do not participate in the subcommittee's joint signing, the investigative authority, particularly the authority to issue subpoenas, will inevitably be limited. Nevertheless, more than 10 senators have signed the initial inquiry letter.
Next reading: Pakistan Converts Emergency Crypto Ordinance Into Law Just Before It Lapsed - With Criminal Penalties And Sharia Rules