Lawyers representing United States-based crypto exchange Binance.US, global exchange Binance Holdings Limited and Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao have filed a motion alleging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) misled the public in statements issued over an ongoing securities lawsuit.
In a June 21 filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the legal teams for Binance, Binance.US and CZ claimed the SEC had made “misleading” statements in a June 17 press release and filed a motion for the financial regulator to comply with “applicable rules of conduct.” The filing referred to SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal claiming CZ and Binance could “commingle customer assets or divert customer assets as they please” and an order requiring all parties involved in the lawsuit to return to the United States.
“The SEC has no evidence that BAM [Binance.US] customer assets have been dissipated, commingled or misused in any way,” said the June 21 filing. “The SEC’s press release also appears to be designed to introduce unwarranted confusion into the marketplace, which could have the effect of harming BAM customers rather than protecting them. It also risks tainting the jury pool with misleading descriptions of the evidence concerning the Defendants.”