US Senator Launches Probe Into Binance After Fortune Report on Sanctions Violations

A fresh wave of scrutiny has hit Binance following a recent Fortune report that alleged the crypto exchange processed about $1.7 billion in sanctioned transactions. US Senator Richard Blumenthal has launched a formal investigation into the platform, analyzing its ties to sanctioned Iranian entities and Russia’s “shadow fleet.”

US Senate Probe Targets Binance

US Senator Richard Blumenthal has reportedly initiated an official probe into Binance. This follows a Fortune report that unveiled the exchange’s alleged $1.7 billion sanctioned transactions.

Notably, Blumenthal, the US Senator for Connecticut, shared an official statement announcing the investigation focusing on Binance’s internal compliance framework. The Senator also intends to identify how the company addressed the red flags raised by its own investigative team. Blumenthal wants to determine whether the company executed proper measures when it discovered the reported suspicious behavior.

As the investigation continues, Blumenthal requested Binance CEO Richard Teng to provide all evidence related to the suspected transactions. The CEO is also asked to submit details regarding the company’s internal response and other incidents mentioned in the Fortune report.

Significantly, the latest development adds to the growing global scrutiny over the company. It is also worth noting that it comes amid major developments and milestones. As reported by CoinGape, Binance partnered with Ondo Finance to resume tokenized stock offerings.

What Did Fortune Uncover?

According to a February 13 Fortune report, Binance processed nearly $1.7 billion in transactions connected to sanctioned Iranian entities and vessels linked to Russia’s “shadow fleet.” The report cited anonymous sources and internal documents, alleging that the firm dismissed at least five employees of its compliance team for identifying these transactions. The statement read,

“Following internal review, and based on the advice of qualified legal counsel, we found no evidence that Binance violated applicable sanctions laws in connection with the activity referenced…That’s rather shocking that that happened under a monitorship with [Binance] internal investigators.”

Binance Rejects Sanctions Violation Claims

However, Binance denied these allegations, highlighting the crypto exchange’s compliance efforts. In a blog post, the company stated that its compliance framework has remarkably improved over the past two years.

According to Binance, sanctions-related trading activity on its platform has fallen by 96.8% between January 2024 and July 2025. The exchange reported that its current percentage of such transactions has decreased to 0.009% of total trading volume, down from 0.284%. The company presented this decline as evidence of its ongoing efforts to limit exposure to high-risk and potentially illicit activity.