The SEC accused Binance.US of unwillingness to cooperate
Date: 2023-09-16 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: BUSINESS
The department noted that as part of the disclosure of information, the company provided only 220 materials. Many of them are just “illegible screenshots and documents with no dates to sign.”
The SEC said the platform refused to make key witnesses available to testify.
“The Company responded to requests for relevant communications with categorical objections and refused to produce documents maintained in the ordinary course of its business, claiming that the documents did not exist, only for the SEC to later obtain them from other sources,” the statement said.
In addition, Binance.US continues to use the services of its partner, the Ceffu custodial service, representatives of the regulator noted. These actions, in their opinion, violate previous agreements between the parties on the ban on the withdrawal of funds abroad.
The SEC sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao on June 5. The commission brought forward 13 charges, including the sale of unregistered securities. On June 6, the regulator announced its intention to freeze digital assets on the American part of the exchange.
On June 9, platform users lost the ability to deposit dollars, which provoked sales from those who want to withdraw funds in fiat. Against this background, a discount has formed on the platform in Bitcoin quotes paired with the dollar - the figure reached ~$2200 (7.3%).
On June 17, the SEC and Binance signed an agreement regarding client funds in the United States. According to the company, the platform resumed the withdrawal of assets but warned that the situation may be different.
In July, journalists reported the resignation of a number of Binance top managers, including Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillmann. At this time, news began to arrive about mass layoffs in the company, Zhao's previous reports about the dismissal of FUD.
At the beginning of September, the director for Eastern Europe, Gleb Kostarev, and the director for the CIS, Vladimir Smerkis, announced their departure from Binance.
At the same time, it became known about the resignation of Binance.US CEO Brian Schroeder along with massive layoffs. Following him, the head of the legal department, Krishna Juvvadi, and the head of the risk department, Sidney Majalya, left the branch, WSJ claims.
According to an internal exchange presentation, Binance.US' growth opportunities are limited due to the business's ties to Zhao and the current regulatory environment.
