Kevin O’Leary Hits Back At CZ’s “Liar” Remark On Live Interview

On Friday, the Shark Tank investor, Kevin O’Leary, also referred to as “Mr. Wonderful”, responded to criticisms from Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao who called him “a liar” for falsifying facts regarding the crypto exchange. On CNBC’s new episode of “Squawk Box”, Kevin also defended his position as a paid spokesperson for the now-bankrupt crypto firm FTX.

Kevin O’Leary Defends SBF

O’Leary was questioned by CNBC anchors Andrew Ross Sorkin in the days leading up to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest about his paid ambassadorship for FTX, his career in venture capital, and his unwithering support for SBF.

Read More: Bahamas Authorities Arrest FTX Founder On Criminal Charges

When asked why he didn’t denounce Bankman-Fried more vehemently, O’Leary responded by saying,

This is America. The justice system provides the presumption of innocence unless proven otherwise

Read More: Kevin O’Leary Claims He Can’t Call SBF Guilty Unless He’s Tried

“I don’t have the facts. John Ray doesn’t have them yet. He’s going to get them. I’m looking through my records & I’m also willing to fund a forensic account of our accounts”, O’Leary said.

Responding To CZ’s Liar Tag

While coming to the topic of CZ and his latest remarks about calling him a liar, the 68-year old investor insisted that he couldn’t risk perjuring himself in front of the U.S. Senate for 2 hours held this week. “I can assure you that was not the case” he further stated.

This comes after the Binance CEO yesterday came on air on the same show of Squawk Box, to talk about Binance’s withdrawal issues, insolvency rumors and Kevin’s statements at the Senate hearing.

CZ was quoted saying:

Kevin O’Leary is making a bunch of nonsense claims. They don’t make sense, they don’t make any logic. I think he is a liar. I think he’s lying about a bunch of stuff.

O’Leary’s Senate Testimony

On Dec. 14, Kevin testified to the senate panel that as per Bankman-Fried, CZ would not comply with the data requirements imposed by a number of different jurisdictions.

Read More: Kevin O’Leary Attacks Binance Calling It An “Unregulated Monopoly”

He was also quoted saying that Binance had intentionally tried to put rival FTX “out of business”.