Nikolas Sargeant
A trio of Democratic senators have pledged to monitor a reported Justice Department investigation into whether Iran used Binance to evade US sanctions. Senators Chris Van Hollen, Elizabeth Warren, and Ruben Gallego issued a joint statement Thursday saying they will conduct oversight to ensure the DOJ pursues the matter seriously and holds the exchange accountable for any wrongdoing.
The statement follows a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the matter, which alleged the Justice Department was investigating Iran's possible use of Binance to circumvent sanctions. The senators described the report as raising serious concerns that Binance may again be violating US sanctions laws and potentially facilitating the activities of Iran-linked groups. Binance responded directly, with a spokesperson telling Cointelegraph the company is not aware of any active investigation, while noting it continues to cooperate with regulators and law enforcement as a matter of course.
The senators said they had already written to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi last month requesting a formal inquiry into the movement of Iran-linked funds through the exchange.
Separately, Binance filed a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday over a February 23 report alleging the company had fired staff who flagged approximately $1 billion in crypto transactions tied to sanctioned Iranian entities, including the Houthis and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Binance denied the report's claims entirely.
The renewed scrutiny comes despite Binance having already pleaded guilty in November 2023 to anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations, paying a record $4.3 billion fine and agreeing to US oversight. Former CEO Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to a related charge and served four months in prison, was pardoned by President Trump in October.
