Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a federal investigation into whether sensitive U.S. personal and corporate data processed by financial platform Airwallex may be accessible to the Chinese Communist Party.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Bondi, Cotton warned that Airwallex, a global cross-border payments platform with substantial operations in mainland China and Hong Kong, handles highly sensitive information for major American companies, potentially placing the data within reach of Beijing through China's sweeping intelligence laws.
"Airwallex operates in the United States as a licensed money transmitter and provides payment, payroll, and reimbursement infrastructure for U.S.-based firms, including Zip, Brex, Rippling, Deel, and Navan. Through those platforms, Airwallex processes data tied to companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Coinbase, and defense contractor Anduril Industries," he said.
The data involved includes Social Security numbers, dates of birth, supplier payments, payroll records, and employee reimbursement accounts that can reveal detailed travel patterns, Cotton added.
The breadth and sensitivity of the information raise "material national security concerns," given Airwallex's operational footprint in China, he said.
The senator cited reporting that internal alarms were raised inside Airwallex as early as 2023. Briar Mercier, the company's head of operations and strategy, allegedly warned that China-based staff were pushing to access client "know your customer" data, including names, birth details, and government identification numbers.
Those concerns, Cotton wrote, were dismissed because restricting access could harm revenue, even though executives acknowledged a potential compliance breach.
Additional reporting cited in the letter claims that when Airwallex moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2023, the company concluded it was unable to fully quarantine customer data from its China-based operations.
Cotton emphasized that under China's National Intelligence Law, organizations and individuals under Chinese jurisdiction are legally required to assist state intelligence work and to keep that cooperation secret.
"This creates an unavoidable risk," he wrote, "that sensitive U.S. data could be compelled by the Chinese government without disclosure."
The senator compared the situation to prior incidents involving Zoom and TikTok, where assurances about data security were later undermined by revelations of China-based access.
Cotton argued that if Airwallex is providing sensitive U.S. data to China, it could violate Executive Order 14117, which restricts transactions that enable the transfer of bulk sensitive personal data to countries of concern.
He formally requested that the Department of Justice launch a full investigation into whether Airwallex data has been accessed by the CCP.
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