The
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC ) has filed 13 charges against
cryptocurrency exchange Binance, two affiliated entities and Founder/CEO
Changpeng Zhao. The US securities watchdog accused Binance and Zhao of
operating illegal trading platforms, offering unregistered crypto asset
securities and commingling customers’ funds.
It also
alleged that Binance operated as an exchange, broker-dealer and clearing agency
without authorization. US derivatives watchdog, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) , made similar allegationsagainst Binance and Zhao two months ago.
In a
complaint filed before a district court in Columbia, SEC
alleged that Binance Holdings operated unregistered crypto exchanges
Binance.com and
Binance.US, its US arm. The regulator further accused Binance of tweaking its
controls to enable high-value US customers to trade on Binance.com, contrary to
the exchange’s public claim that US clients were barred from the platform.
In addition, SEC
alleged that affiliated entities BAM Trading and BAM Management together with Binance offered and sold the
crypto exchange’s unregistered token and stablecoin , BNB and BUSD, respectively, on the
Binance.US platform. On top of that, they allegedly provided unregistered profit-generating programmes ‘BNB Vault’ and ‘Simple Earn’
as well as crypto staking products, to US investors.
Moreover, the SEC
accused Zhao and Binance of secretly controlling the US arm despite claiming
publicly that it is “a separate,
independent trading platform for US investors,” according to a statement.
Giving more details, SEC said Zhao and Binance’s access to the US trading arm gave them
access to commingling customer assets or diverting them to Sigma Chain, an entity
owned and controlled by Zhao. They also allegedly merged ‘billions of dollars of investor assets’ and sent them to
Merit Peak Limited, which is also owned by the Binance Founder.
“Through
thirteen charges, we allege that Zhao and Binance entities engaged in an
extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and
calculated evasion of the law,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
Brokeree, Advance Markets partner; illegal brokers; read today’s news nuggets.
The
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC ) has filed 13 charges against
cryptocurrency exchange Binance, two affiliated entities and Founder/CEO
Changpeng Zhao. The US securities watchdog accused Binance and Zhao of
operating illegal trading platforms, offering unregistered crypto asset
securities and commingling customers’ funds.
It also
alleged that Binance operated as an exchange, broker-dealer and clearing agency
without authorization. US derivatives watchdog, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) , made similar allegationsagainst Binance and Zhao two months ago.
In a
complaint filed before a district court in Columbia, SEC
alleged that Binance Holdings operated unregistered crypto exchanges
Binance.com and
Binance.US, its US arm. The regulator further accused Binance of tweaking its
controls to enable high-value US customers to trade on Binance.com, contrary to
the exchange’s public claim that US clients were barred from the platform.
In addition, SEC
alleged that affiliated entities BAM Trading and BAM Management together with Binance offered and sold the
crypto exchange’s unregistered token and stablecoin , BNB and BUSD, respectively, on the
Binance.US platform. On top of that, they allegedly provided unregistered profit-generating programmes ‘BNB Vault’ and ‘Simple Earn’
as well as crypto staking products, to US investors.
Moreover, the SEC
accused Zhao and Binance of secretly controlling the US arm despite claiming
publicly that it is “a separate,
independent trading platform for US investors,” according to a statement.
Giving more details, SEC said Zhao and Binance’s access to the US trading arm gave them
access to commingling customer assets or diverting them to Sigma Chain, an entity
owned and controlled by Zhao. They also allegedly merged ‘billions of dollars of investor assets’ and sent them to
Merit Peak Limited, which is also owned by the Binance Founder.
“Through
thirteen charges, we allege that Zhao and Binance entities engaged in an
extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and
calculated evasion of the law,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
Brokeree, Advance Markets partner; illegal brokers; read today’s news nuggets.
