According to a tweet from former SEC employee John Reed Stark, Binance, the top cryptocurrency exchange in the world, and its CEO Changpeng Zhao are strengthening their legal defences in what looks to be preparation for a criminal investigation.
A notable development is the addition of George Canellos, a former head of the SEC’s New York office and chief of the Major Crimes Unit in the Southern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, to Binance and Zhao’s legal team. Stark emphasised the significance of this acquisition, pointing out Canellos’ distinctive background as a prosecutor for the Department of Justice and the SEC.
This significant legal action follows the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) aggressive legal action against Binance and Zhao.
Operation of unregistered securities trading platforms, unauthorised sales of crypto asset securities, and alleged fraud are among the accusations made by the regulator. The SEC claims that Binance deliberately avoided regulatory scrutiny, putting investor funds at risk in order to further its own financial gain.
The SEC’s major contention is that Binance and its CEO, Zhao, surreptitiously managed their U.S. operation. Rich American consumers were allegedly able to get around restrictions on their access as a result, thereby breaking American laws. Additionally, Binance and Zhao are charged with selling various cryptocurrency-related items, as well as their own digital currencies like BNB and Binance USD (BUSD), unlawfully. The SEC also asserts that Binance and Zhao established BAM Management and BAM Trading in order to circumvent federal financial laws in the United States.
Stark’s tweet implies that Binance is preparing for a protracted legal battle because it has hired prominent defence lawyers like Canellos.
Stark portrays an image of a high-stakes struggle ahead with his lighthearted allusion to the fact that the combined abilities of superheroes Ironman, Captain America, and the Hulk may not be sufficient to free Binance from its current legal problem.
