Allegations from the US SEC have landed Binance.US in hot water, with recent developments seeing the company hire four lawyers from Milbank LLP led by George Canellos, the co-director of the SEC’s enforcement division. Canellos’ prior experience supervising over 1,300 attorneys at the SEC on numerous investigations lends him a unique skill set, which industry insiders have described as a mix of Liam Neeson and Perry Mason.
As Binance.US faces charges of operating as an illegal securities exchange, Canellos and his team prepare for a challenging legal battle. The SEC has accused Binance.US, the global Binance exchange, and its owner Changpeng Zhao (CZ) of breaking securities laws in the US due to alleged mishandling of customer funds and misleading investors and regulators. Consequently, the SEC requested a temporary freeze on Binance.US’s assets to protect its customer funds, an action which Binance has vehemently denied.
The situation intensified as several banks revealed their intentions to sever ties with Binance.US, prompting the company to suspend USD deposits. In response to the SEC’s allegations, Binance.US submitted a new court filing, highlighting its “significant efforts” to cooperate with the US SEC since December 2020. This marks the company’s first time disputing the SEC’s claims, which include accusations of redirecting over $12 billion in customer assets to funds controlled by CZ.
Binance.US’s legal team has countered these allegations, affirming that the company maintains its customers’ fiat currency in segregated accounts separate from any corporate funds. While they acknowledged that CZ owns the bank account of BAM Trading, the parent company of Binance.US, they refuted claims that he holds signatory authority over the account.
The SEC, however, argues that CZ’s control over these bank accounts reflects a lack of separation between Binance and Binance.US. Observers believe that CZ owns a controlling stake in both entities, further complicating the case. The final verdict on this matter may hinge on market research and the personal opinions of the author, so investors must carefully weigh the consequences before investing in cryptocurrencies.
Source: Coingape
