Binance (CRYPTO: BNB) has told Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that an internal review found no direct transactions between its platform and Iranian entities.

Media reports alleging $1.7 billion in Iran-linked flows are “demonstrably false” and “defamatory,” according to Binance.

The Senate Probe

Blumenthal opened an inquiry in February, following allegations that two Binance partners, Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust, acted as middlemen for money laundering and allowed trade with Iranian government entities, Coindesk reported on Friday.

The Times reported Binance’s internal investigators discovered more than 1,500 accounts accessed from Iran and that about $1.7 billion flowed from two Binance accounts to Iran-linked entities, including wallets tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

The Journal reported Hexa Whale Trading moved roughly $500 million in USDT to the IRGC, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. 

Reports also alleged Binance fired or suspended the internal investigators who discovered these flows.

The Binance Response

In a March 6 letter, Binance said its review began after law enforcement contacted the company last April, seeking information about transactions between Binance wallets and several external addresses authorities said could be connected to terrorist financing.

The exchange identified two entities, Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust, whose accounts had interacted with the flagged wallets.

Binance said it removed Hexa Whale from its platform in August and offboarded Blessed Trust in January after completing investigations.

Critically, Binance stated that the entities only had “indirect exposure to wallet addresses with potential ties to Iran” and that “to our knowledge, no Binance account transacted directly with an Iran-based entity.”

The Context

The inquiry comes years after Binance and former CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to register as a money transmitting business and breaching sanctions. 

The defendants paid $4.3 billion in penalties and agreed to independent compliance monitoring.

Zhao served four months in federal prison and was later pardoned by President Trump, a move that also drew congressional scrutiny.

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