CFTC chief explains lawsuit against Binance

Binance’s actions are a clear case of evading the law, and U.S. authorities should have intervened aggressively and as quickly as possible. This was stated by CFTC Rostin Behnam on CNBC.

“[…] this was ongoing fraud — dating back to 2019 — and a violation of the Commodity Exchange Act,” the official stressed.

According to him, Binance clearly informed clients about methods to evade monitoring of activity using VPNs and ignored regulatory requirements. Behnam added that it was evident that control over the company originated from CEO Changpeng Zhao, and there are “clear documents” about the intent to circumvent the law.

“Therefore, we intend to vigorously continue and fight this case in court,” the regulator chief said.

On March 27, the CFTC filed suit against Binance and Zhao, accusing unregistered trading of derivatives, providing services to U.S. citizens and sanctioned individuals, and failing to comply with anti-money-laundering rules.

The regulator sought penalties, injunctions, including a ban on conducting business in the country. Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran called the lawsuit an attempt to deal a fatal blow to Binance and did not rule out that authorities “have a good chance of success.”

In response to the allegations Zhao stated that the regulator’s claims contain “an incomplete account of the facts,” and his company does not agree with the characterization of many points. 

Earlier, after the regulator’s suit, Binance’s BTC balances fell by 3,611 BTC.