Breaking: U.S. Judge Criticizes SEC & Overrules Stay Motion Over Voyager Acquisition Deal

In regard to Binance.US’s acquisition of the crypto lending startup Voyager Digital, the clash of wills that has been going on between the U.S. authorities and the bankruptcy court persists to continue. According to a document filed with the court on Wednesday, Judge Michael Wiles of the Southern District of New York ruled that BinanceUS could move forward with its $1 billion purchase of Voyager assets. This decision comes after the judge rejected a request from the U.S. SEC to halt the proceedings until an appeal has been heard.

Judge Dismisses SEC’s Motion

Earlier, the U.S. financial watchdog filed a stay motion after Binance’s victory in obtaining the court approval to buy Voyager’s assets. The filing made note of the fact that bankruptcy courts don’t have the “power to release and immunize from suit debtors’ or non-debtors conduct that falls within the Government’s police and regulatory powers”.

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Additionally, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams has stated that the deal should be altered or overturned since it tried to basically clear Voyager and its employees of breaching any tax or securities laws. Judge Wiles, however, argued that that is not the case with the agreement, which he had previously approved, and that continuing to delay would harm Voyagers’ customers, who have been unable to access their cryptocurrencies since the company filed for bankruptcy in July 2022.

SEC Accused Of Roadblocks

Under the terms of this acquisition deal, Voyager’s creditors stand a chance of recouping 73% of their losses. The court has already adhered to several witnesses who have testified on a variety of complicated subjects, such as whether or not any personally identifiable information will be transferred to Binance.US as part of this settlement and how this transition turns out to be a more prudent method for creditors than undergoing an emergency liquidation.

According to court documents, Judge Wiles was quoted as saying:

The government’s documents exaggerate and in some places mischaracterize what I have done and the authorities on which I have relied, and in other instances rely on hyperbole or on ‘straw man’ arguments.

“The public interest also favors the timely resolution of bankruptcy cases. As noted above, a stay would adversely affect many thousands of customers”, Wiles further added.

On March 7, the court gave its approval to Binance.US for wholly acquiring the defunct lending platform. Additionally, Judge Wiles gave the go-ahead for the trading platform to issue and distribute repayment tokens to consumers of Voyager who were adversely affected.

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