Democrats in the US Senate continue to go after Binance, calling on the Treasury and Justice departments to investigate sanctions compliance and illicit financing protections following reports of potential terrorism financing.
Nine senators, including a few who were instrumental in negotiating legislation on the crypto industry known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, sent a letter to the heads of federal agencies on Friday, asking them to investigate the exchange after reports of possible violations, which also claimed the company had fired some compliance staff involved in uncovering the transactions.
The Democrats’ latest move follows an announcement earlier this week from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who is a ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, that he was investigating Binance and had written a letter to the company requesting information. However, neither he nor other Senate Democrats constitute the majority, meaning they currently have no control over committee investigations.
Richard Teng, co-CEO of Binance, said some of the previous media reports were “inaccurate” and “defamatory.” A company spokesperson did not respond Friday to a request for comment on the senators’ request, which was sent to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“These allegations raise serious concerns that illicit financial miscontrols at Binance remain a significant national security threat,” according to Friday’s letter from senators including Elizabeth Warren, Ruben Gallego, Angela Alsobrooks, Mark Warner and five others, who also requested information on the company’s compliance with the requirements of its 2023 settlement.
“Our illicit financial controls are dangerously compromised if enormous sums of money are allowed to flow through Binance to terrorist groups or sanctions evaders,” they wrote in the letter, which comes at a delicate time in ongoing discussions over U.S. legislation that would govern crypto markets.
Preventing illicit financing in crypto is among the issues still discussed in this bill. Sen. Warner has taken the lead among Democrats seeking to craft legislative language on the topic.
Another unresolved issue concerns the crypto activities of US President Donald Trump and his family, which the letter also referred to. The lawmakers wrote that they “acknowledged” that Binance had ties to World Liberty Financial, the Trump-backed crypto firm behind the $1 stablecoin. They also referenced Trump’s pardon of Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao – he had pleaded guilty and served four months in prison due to Binance’s past anti-money laundering and know-your-customer issues.
