Democratic senators have opened an inquiry into transactions worth $1.7 billion that may have benefited Iran, according to investigators.

Senate inquiry

The Senate probe examines whether funds worth $1.7 billion were routed through Binance in ways that violated sanctions or internal controls.

Investigators are reviewing internal records and employee testimony to determine the scale and timing of the alleged transactions.

Allegations and company response

According to the investigation, internal staff reportedly identified more than 1,500 Iranian accounts on the platform, prompting compliance concerns among some employees.

The inquiry notes that, rather than expanding compliance measures, some employees were dismissed; Binance attributes those dismissals to data handling violations rather than findings.

Binance has stated that accounts linked to Iran have been removed, and the company says it continues to review its controls and procedures.

Context and compliance

Cryptocurrency exchanges operate under anti‑money‑laundering and sanctions obligations, which require monitoring and reporting of suspicious activity to regulators.

The Senate inquiry is focused on whether Binance's practices met those obligations and on the adequacy of its response after alleged internal discoveries.