Binance's $4.3 Billion Settlement Now Faces Question of Whether Its Compliance Monitors Still Exist

The status of the independent monitors tasked with overseeing Binance's compliance operations is now under Senate inquiry following reports that more than $1 billion flowed through the exchange to Iran-linked wallets. Sen. Richard Blumenthal sent letters to the Justice Department and the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network asking for details on the monitors' current activity.

The monitorships began in 2024 as part of a 2023 plea deal in which Binance paid a $4.3 billion fine for failing to impose proper money-laundering and sanctions oversight. The government installed two monitors—Frances McLeod of Forensic Risk Alliance for the DOJ and Sharon Cohen Levin of Sullivan & Cromwell for FinCEN—to ensure the exchange overhauled its compliance program.

Blumenthal's inquiry follows reports that Binance fired internal investigators who had alerted top executives to the Iranian crypto flows. Binance stated the firings were unrelated to those findings and maintained that its compliance program remains rigorous.

The questioning coincides with a 2025 Reuters report stating that the DOJ paused corporate monitorships during an informal review. In March 2025, a judge granted the DOJ's request to end the monitorship of Glencore; later that year, the DOJ scrapped the requirement for Boeing to maintain an independent monitor. Sen. Richard Blumenthal requested details from the DOJ and FinCEN on the current status of the Binance monitors.