U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal has requested the Department of Justice and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to disclose information on the status of the independent monitors of Binance.
He requested it following a new scrutiny following reports that Iran-linked entities transferred huge amounts of money via the exchange. On Friday, the Connecticut Democrat dispatched the letters, with lawmakers still considering whether Binance complied with the compliance terms of its 2023 settlement with U.S. authorities.
In that settlement Binance undertook to enhance its anti-money laundering and sanctions measures following a guilty plea to compliance failures and paying penalties totaling approximately $4.3 billion.
“I am writing with concern over mounting allegations of dangerously lax anti-money-laundering prevention by Binance,” Blumenthal wrote in the letters.
He asked both agencies to clarify whether the monitors remain active, whether they have filed any reports of misconduct, and what oversight measures are still in place.
The matter drew fresh attention after several media reports said Binance investigators had traced more than $1 billion in flows to Iran-linked wallets. Those reports also said some staff involved in those internal reviews were later disciplined or removed.
Binance denied wrongdoing, said the staffing decisions were not tied to those findings, and maintained that its compliance framework remains strong.
Focus shifts to oversight tied to the 2023 settlement
The most recent action by Blumenthal revolves around the regulatory framework that the U.S. authorities demanded as part of the 2023 plea deal of Binance. The settlement meant Binance had to keep external monitors to examine its compliance program and report independently to the DOJ and FinCEN.
Additionally, the monitorships started in 2024 and was intended to evaluate whether Binance had enhanced its internal controls following years of regulatory lapses.
Among those failures, one was failing to become a money transmitting business properly registered and failing on the sanctions and anti-money laundering regulations.
Blumenthal’s questions show that attention has now moved beyond the original settlement terms and toward whether the monitoring system is still operating as expected.
He asked whether the DOJ and Treasury still maintain those arrangements and whether the monitors have raised any concerns linked to the recent reports.
He also requested documents and updates related to the monitors’ work. Blumenthal set an April 24 deadline for responses. The letters were addressed to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki.
Neither the DOJ nor FinCEN immediately responded to comment requests in the reports cited. Binance also declined to comment on the senator’s inquiry. The exchange has continued to reject claims tied to Iran-linked transactions while pointing to its existing compliance controls.
Iran-linked transaction reports add to pressure on Binance
The renewed review followed reports from major media outlets that Binance compliance staff found that two exchange partners acted as middlemen in transactions tied to Iran-linked entities. Those reports added to claims that Iranian users or connected parties moved large sums through the platform despite sanctions controls.
According to the published accounts, internal investigators raised concerns over the transactions. Some reports said employees connected to those findings later faced discipline or dismissal.
Binance denied allegations that it had lay-off its employees due to the Iran-related work and claimed that the workforce restructuring had no connection to the investigation results.
Moreover, the company also took legal action against one of the outlets that reported on the matter. The Wall Street Journal was sued by Binance because of its Iran sanctions reporting, which further complicated the issue of how the exchange processed the transactions reported and the response it took internally.
Blumenthal referred to the reports in his letters and said they raised questions about whether Binance had followed through on the commitments it made in the 2023 settlements. His focus appears to be whether the exchange’s public compliance statements match its internal conduct.
The senator has pressed Binance on related issues before. He previously sent a letter to Binance CEO Richard Teng about reporting on possible sanctions violations.
As the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Blumenthal plays a central role in reviewing corporate compliance and suspected financial misconduct.
Silence from monitors draws more attention
Part of the current concern centers on the low public profile of Binance’s monitors. Frances McLeod, the DOJ-appointed monitor and a founding partner at Forensic Risk Alliance, did not immediately respond to requests for comment in the reporting. Sharon Cohen Levin, FinCEN’s monitor and a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, also did not immediately respond.
That silence has raised more questions about whether the monitors are flagging issues behind closed doors or whether the process has slowed. Blumenthal’s letters appear aimed at clarifying that point by asking whether any misconduct reports have been filed and whether the monitors are still operating under their original terms.
The questions also come after earlier reporting that the DOJ had reviewed or paused some corporate monitorships in 2025. Reuters reported last year that the department had informally reviewed such arrangements. That report gained attention after the DOJ ended or dropped monitorship requirements in other large corporate cases, including matters involving Glencore and Boeing.
That background has added to questions over whether Binance’s oversight may also have changed. In 2025, Bloomberg reported that Binance was close to reaching a deal with the DOJ to end one compliance requirement ahead of schedule. Blumenthal’s letters suggest he wants direct answers on whether any such changes have taken place.
Furthermore, the recent pressure is an addition to a series of legal and regulatory challenges that Binance faces in the United States. In November 2023, the exchange and former CEO Changpeng Zhao agreed to resolve significant federal charges based on compliance failures. Zhao was later given a four-month jail term.