Binance slams US Senate probe over Iran as based on defamatory reports

The crypto exchange responded to a Senate inquiry over sanctions by claiming that “no Binance account transacted directly with an Iran-based entity.“

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has officially responded to a February inquiry launched by a group of 11 US senators, largely denying facilitating transactions to Iranian entities and the narrative around employees’ terminations.

In a Friday letter to US Senators Richard Blumenthal and Ron Johnson of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Binance said that an inquiry launched in February into the exchange’s activities was based on reports that were “demonstrably false, unsupported by credible evidence, and defamatory in several material respects.” 

The exchange referred to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Fortune, which said that Binance fired employees that reported the company had facilitated more than $1 billion in crypto transactions to entities connected to Iran, called Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust. According to Binance, the company launched an investigation in response to law enforcement inquiries, resulting in the removal of the entities from the platform. 

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