Binance Denies Involvement in Iranian Fund Transactions, Calls Reports Defamatory

On February 24, 2024, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal launched a preliminary investigation following a joint report by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune magazine, alleging that two Hong Kong-based Binance partners—Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust—were suspected of transferring approximately $1.7 billion to Iranian-linked entities. The report claimed that Binance's internal investigation had found approximately 1,500 account access records from Iran.

In response, Binance explicitly denied direct involvement in Iranian transactions and emphasized that it had terminated its cooperation with Hexa Whale in August 2025 and dissolved its partnership with Blessed Trust in January 2026, following law enforcement requests. Binance stated that this series of actions precisely demonstrates the effective operation of its compliance system, rather than the existence of systemic negligence.

Regarding Fortune magazine's mention of “compliance team members being fired for reporting issues,” Binance denied this, pointing out that high-level personnel changes are normal personnel adjustments, and a successor to Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman is currently being selected. It is worth noting that Blumenthal is a member of the Senate minority party, and without the co-signature support of Republican senators, the investigation lacks mandatory subpoena power. Nevertheless, more than ten senators have signed the original inquiry letter, indicating that regulatory attention to cross-border compliance issues of crypto platforms continues to escalate.