The SEC’s battle against Binance Holdings and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has recently escalated. The SEC attempted to integrate Binance’s guilty plea into its own legal case. Binance has responded, arguing that the inclusion of the $4.3 billion guilty plea agreement with the DOJ was procedurally incorrect and should not be allowed.
“The SEC’s notice is an unauthorized supplemental memorandum that does not identify any new ‘authority’ and instead attempts to introduce new factual information and new arguments. It is, in and of itself, a reason not to consider it.”
Binance
The Binance-SEC case began on June 5, 2023, when the SEC accused the company of 13 violations of securities laws. These accusations include mishandling customer assets on Binance.US and manipulating or diverting these assets. Although not formally included in the settlement, the SEC argues that the federal court overseeing its case against Binance should consider the statements and acknowledgments made by Binance and Zhao in the November 21 settlement. Binance disputes these allegations, stating that the SEC has not demonstrated how the resolutions with the DOJ are relevant to its own “baseless allegations” against the company.
