Just In: CZ, Binance Say US SEC Claims On DOJ Settlement ‘Irrelevant’

Binance Holdings and the former chief executive officer of the crypto exchange Changpeng Zhao have filed a response to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) notice of supplemental authority in relation to the Binance settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

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US SEC Action “Improper and Impermissible”

In a detailed response filed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Binance argued that the SEC was being procedurally improper and impermissible in attempting to introduce the findings of the $4.3 billion guilty plea and settlement agreement with the DOJ. Earlier, CoinGape reported the Commission’s notice on taking into account the US DOJ settlement agreement. The SEC authorities believed the findings would strengthen its case against the company as well as the former CEO.

In response, the company argued that the SEC failed to show the relevance of the resolutions made with the DOJ to any of the SEC’s ‘defective claims’ against Binance Holdings and Changpeng Zhao. The Binance SEC lawsuit dates back to June 5, 2023, when the agency charged the company with 13 charges related to securities law violations. One of the charges made by the Commission include the allegation that Zhao and Binance controlled customer assets on Binance US as well as commingling customer assets or diverting customer assets.

SEC Trying To Benefit From Other Agencies’ Notice

In the court documents filed on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, the company stated that the SEC notice does not support its own claims made in the June 2023 lawsuit. It said,

“The SEC Notice is an impermissible supplemental brief that identifies no new “authority” and instead attempts to introduce new factual information and arguments. This alone is reason to disregard it.”

The company added that providing a judicial notice is not an alternative avenue for amending the complaint. The SEC was making efforts to benefit from other agencies’ resolutions shows the lack of notice of any relevant regulatory authority on the part of the SEC, the company remarked.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how the US SEC supports its claims on charging the crypto exchange with operating unregistered national securities exchanges, broker-dealers, and clearing agencies, in the context of demand for amendments to the US securities laws.

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