In a recent report, two United States Congressmen urged the US Department of Justice to launch an investigation to probe two prominent crypto platforms, Binance and Tether, for their possible involvement in aiding and abetting terrorist activities through their operations. Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative French Hill have recently written to the Attorney General of the US DoJ, Merrick Garland, requesting him to investigate two famous crypto firms, Binance exchange and Tether.
According to the report, both Lummis and Hill are known for their active advocacies for cryptocurrency over time; however, they were both seen urging the US authorities to take legal action against some crypto firms. Explaining their ironical stance, the report revealed that the congress members penned the request letter after Binance and Tether accused them of allowing terrorists and bad actors to fund their activities through their platforms.
Binance Allegedly Involved In Illegal Activities
Furthermore, in the letter, they requested the US Attorney General to look into the allegations and also take adequate legal action against the two Crypto firms in accordance with their guilt level. Meanwhile, the report revealed that the DoJ had previously initiated an investigation against the Binance exchange in 2018. More so, the DoJ and IRS jointly probed the giant crypto exchange in 2021, according to the report.
In addition, the Department of Justice was reportedly split between suing Binance exchange after the collapse of the prominent FTX exchange in November 2022. Nonetheless, in June 2023, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly filed a legal case against the exchange, accessing both Binance and Binance. US of selling illegal securities. Also, the lawsuit alleges that the exchange eluded regulatory authority, thereby endangering customers’ funds.
In their letter to the US Attorney General, Lummis and Hill pointed out that Binance is a centralized crypto exchange that operates without oversight, situated in the Cayman and Seychelles Islands. In the past, the giant crypto firm had been associated with illegal activities, and at the moment, it is currently being probed by the US Department of Justice.
Congressmen Call For DoJ’s Swift Action
Furthermore, the two congressmen included in their letter that Garland should hasten the completion of DoJ’s investigation on allegations that Tether was involved in some illicit activities. According to the report, the authority started its criminal investigation against Tether in 2021.
In addition, in October 2022, a crypto law expert involved in the Sam Bankman-Fried criminal case, Damian Williams, reportedly led the investigation. Nonetheless, Tether rejected the allegations as its representative stated that there was no evidence to support the claims that Tether breached the Bank Secrecy Act or the Sanction laws via insufficient customer screening protocols and due diligence.
Hence, both Hill and Lummis urge the DoJ to cautiously investigate and evaluate the extent of Binance and Tether’s involvement in supporting terrorism by violating active sanction laws. Furthermore, they called on the DoJ to take swift action against Binance and Tether to cut short their role in financially supporting terrorist activities.
CASA Executive Warns Investors Against Binance
Meanwhile, in another news, Nick Neuman, the CEO of CASA ( a BTC/USD custodian platform), warned crypto investors to be wary of the suspicious activities he alleged going on on Binance and Binance.US. The CEO urged individual investors to take charge of their crypto assets as he emphasized the importance of self-custody in managing wealth in his report.
According to the report, Neuman pointed out the growing concerns surrounding the global crypto custodian exchange, Binance, and its American affiliate, Binance.US, stating that over the past few months, many reports and cases have surfaced which questions the reputation of Binance’s operations. He also highlighted that Binance had exited many European countries due to compliance issues. In addition, many US banks restrict Binance from accessing US dollars. Due to these and other adverse reports surrounding Binance, Neuman urged users to opt in for self-custody to manage their assets.