November 06, 2025
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) led 27 House Democrats in a letter to Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent opposing President Trump’s pardon of Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder and former CEO of Binance, who was convicted of violating U.S. anti-money laundering legal guidelines.
“It’s obvious that Binance and its CEO fostered a tradition of enabling cryptocurrency crime to extend firm earnings,” the lawmakers wrote. “…Latest experiences increase issues about potential conflicts of curiosity and regulatory backsliding in mild of President Trump’s pardon, together with Binance’s enterprise dealings with World Liberty Monetary (WLF), a cryptocurrency firm predominantly owned and managed by the President and his members of the family.”
Binance is a worldwide cryptocurrency alternate that didn’t register with the Treasury Division and implement an efficient Know-Your-Buyer (KYC) program, regardless of serving round 3 million U.S. clients in 2018. As a consequence of Binance’s weak buyer identification controls, it facilitated transactions on its platform involving terrorist teams, little one sexual abuse, cybercriminals, and sanctioned people in Iran and North Korea.
In 2023, the Biden Administration reached a $4 billion settlement settlement with Binance and its former CEO, CZ, which included expenses associated to prison cash laundering. Consequently of this settlement, CZ obtained a four-month jail sentence and was eliminated as CEO, Binance exited U.S. markets, and two unbiased compliance monitorships have been appointed. These screens guarantee Binance’s compliance with the authorized phrases of the 2023 settlement and assist to enhance its methods to stop future cash laundering on its platform.
Earlier this yr, Binance helped World Liberty Monetary, a cryptocurrency firm predominantly owned by President Trump and his household, launch its USD1 stablecoin. In Might, a UAE state-owned funding agency used USD1 to make a $2 billion funding in Binance, which gave President Trump a major monetary share of the deal.
Along with Rep. Casten, the letter was signed by Reps. Joyce Beatty, Don Beyer, Greg Casar, Judy Chu, Emanuel Cleaver, Dwight Evans, Cleo Fields, Invoice Foster, John Garamendi, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Al Inexperienced, Jared Huffman, Glenn Ivey, Stephen Lynch, Gregory Meeks, Dave Min, Brittany Pettersen, Deborah Ross, Brad Schneider, David Scott, Terri Sewell, Brad Sherman, Adam Smith, Paul Tonko, Juan Vargas, and Nydia Velázquez.
Textual content of the letter might be discovered under. A replica of the letter might be discovered here.
Pricey Lawyer Basic Bondi and Secretary Bessent:
We write to specific opposition to President Trump’s choice to pardon Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder and former CEO of Binance, who was convicted of violating U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) legal guidelines in 2023. On this context, we request updates on the separate compliance monitorships imposed by the Division of Justice (DOJ) and the Treasury Division (Treasury) on Binance, as required below the 2023 settlement.
Binance is the most important cryptocurrency alternate on the planet, serving tens of millions of customers throughout greater than 180 international locations. For years, Binance knowingly allowed U.S. customers on its international, unlicensed buying and selling platform, producing greater than $1.6 billion in earnings from U.S.-based transactions between 2017 and 2022. In 2023, the DOJ and Treasury introduced enforcement actions in opposition to Binance for willful violations of U.S. AML and sanctions legal guidelines, together with failures to implement applicable safeguards and the facilitation of transactions involving terrorist organizations, cash launderers, ransomware attackers, and customers in sanctioned jurisdictions comparable to Iran, North Korea, and Syria. Public filings and company statements indicated that CZ was properly conscious and he “permit[ed] it”, based on inside messages obtained by Treasury’s Workplace of International Belongings Management (OFAC). As well as, CZ informed Binance staff that it was “higher to make an apology than permission,” as he prioritized Binance’s progress over compliance with U.S. regulation, based on the DOJ. It’s obvious that Binance and its CEO fostered a tradition of enabling cryptocurrency crime to extend firm earnings.
The decision introduced in 2023 by the Biden Administration included a file $4 billion settlement with Binance and a prison conviction for CZ, which resulted in a four-month keep in federal jail, a custodial sentence, and the appointment of two unbiased compliance screens. CZ’s prison file has reportedly difficult Binance’s purposes for regulatory licenses in different jurisdictions, comparable to Germany, and has impacted Binance’s capability to open financial institution accounts.
We perceive that the DOJ’s three-year monitorship, led by a associate at London-based forensic consulting agency Forensic Danger Alliance (FRA), focuses on remediating and enhancing Binance’s AML and sanctions compliance applications. We additional perceive that Treasury’s five-year monitorship, led by a associate at regulation agency Sullivan & Cromwell, evaluates Binance’s compliance with Financial institution Secrecy Act (BSA) obligations, together with methods and processes for submitting suspicious exercise experiences (SAR) with Treasury’s Monetary Crimes Enforcement Community (FinCEN). For years, Binance had willfully didn’t report such transactions involving terrorist teams like Al Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), ransomware attackers, little one sexual abusers, fraudsters, and different scammers, based on FinCEN. As well as, Treasury’s monitorship additionally facilitates the company’s entry to Binance’s books, data, and methods for the following 5 years, which can even assist guarantee Binance’s full exit from the U.S., as required by the 2023 settlement.
Latest experiences increase issues about potential conflicts of curiosity and regulatory backsliding in mild of President Trump’s pardon, together with Binance’s enterprise dealings with World Liberty Monetary (WLF), a cryptocurrency firm predominantly owned and managed by the President and his members of the family. For instance, Binance reportedly wrote the pc code to facilitate the launch of WLF’s stablecoin in March, whereas additionally selling the product to its 275 million clients. In Might, a UAE state-owned funding agency introduced that it will use WLF’s stablecoin to take a position $2 billion in Binance, which successfully gave President Trump a lower of this huge monetary deal. Moreover, members of the Trump household have reportedly mentioned with Binance buying a stake in its U.S.-based platform. Any consideration of curbing the monitorships or in any other case stress-free compliance obligations earlier than verifiable remediation is full would current critical national-security and financial-crime dangers.
We’re additionally involved by experiences that Binance has pressed the DOJ and Treasury to terminate each compliance screens. To that finish, we request that you simply reply the next questions by no later than November 20, 2025.
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Binance, as a company, pled responsible to a few prison cash laundering expenses and has not been pardoned. Are you able to commit that Treasury and the DOJ will keep their unbiased monitorships of Binance’s compliance for the complete phrases outlined within the 2023 resolutions?
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Has the Monitor submitted all of its quarterly progress experiences? Have these experiences been submitted on time?
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Have any Treasury or DOJ officers communicated with Binance or its representatives about modifying or ending both compliance monitor earlier than the required timeline below the 2023 settlement?
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If that’s the case, please record the dates of these communications and the people concerned.
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The Binance Consent Order supplied a civil financial penalty of $3,400,000,000, minus a credit score of $2,470,000,000 paid to different companies. That left $930,000,000, of which FinCEN agreed to droop $150,000,000 pending Binance’s compliance. Subsequently, a complete of $780,000,000 was owed by Binance (assuming that the “Undertakings” have been fulfilled, together with the retention of a monitor, the closure of U.S. buyer accounts, and the submission of a collection of experiences, by deadlines outlined by the Consent Order).
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Has Binance paid the $780,000,000 to Treasury? If not the complete quantity, how a lot has Binance paid?
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On what date have been these funds made?
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Is the USA Authorities planning to forgive no matter steadiness stays?
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Is the USA Authorities planning to refund any penalties paid?
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What’s the standing of the $1.35 billion ill-gotten transaction charges Binance was imagined to disgorge to the CFTC?
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Have any disgorgement funds been made? How a lot? When? What’s the steadiness, if any?
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Is the USA Authorities planning to forgive no matter steadiness stays?
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Is the USA Authorities planning to refund any disgorgement funds?
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Have any of the disgorgements been paid out to harmed customers and buyers?
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What’s the standing of the extra $1.35 billion in penalties Binance was required to pay to CFTC?
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Have any funds been made? How a lot? When? What’s the steadiness, if any?
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Is the USA Authorities planning to forgive no matter steadiness stays?
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Is the USA Authorities planning to refund any penalties paid?
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Have been the SAR Lookback Scope Report, the SAR Lookback Report, the AML Program Scope Report, and AML Program Guide Report submitted to Treasury?
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On what dates have been these paperwork submitted?
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Beneath the 2023 settlement with the DOJ, CZ resigned as Binance’s CEO and Binance agreed to ban him from any involvement in working or managing the corporate for 3 years. Are you able to commit that the DOJ will proceed to implement this prohibition?
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What’s the present standing of Binance.com’s exit from the USA? Have all U.S. customers of Binance.com been confirmed as offboarded?
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Are you able to commit that your company will totally implement all phrases of the 2023 resolutions, together with continued entry to Binance’s methods and data and the screens’ capability to report findings with out interference?
Thanks to your consideration to this crucial matter.
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