Binance, CEO Changpeng Zhao intends to seek dismissal of CFTC complaint
Crypto exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao are planning to file a motion to dismiss a March-filed lawsuit from the United States commodities regulator.
In a July 24 filing to an Illinois District Court, multiple Binance entities, Zhao and former chief compliance officer Samuel Lim said they plan to file two separate motions to dismiss the complaint before July 27.
“The Foreign Binance Entities and Zhao intend to file a joint Motion to Dismiss the Complaint. Lim intends to file a separate Motion to Dismiss the Complaint, and join parts of the motion filed by the Foreign Binance Entities and Zhao,” the filing read.
Binance is also seeking permission to exceed a 15-page limit on the brief which would be used to support its motion and requested for it to go up to 50 pages citing the complexity of the lawsuit brought against it.
“Given the complexity of the CFTC’s Complaint and the number of arguments Defendants anticipate making in support of their Motions to Dismiss, Defendants anticipate that their Memoranda of Law in support of the two motions will exceed the fifteen-page limits.”
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance and Zhao in March alleging the crypto exchange did not properly register with the regulator.
The CFTC claimed despite Binance blocking U.S. residents from transacting on its platform, since at least 2019 it knowingly conducted transactions in multiple cryptocurrencies for people based in the U.S. and intentionally violated U.S. laws.
The regulator also called Binance’s compliance process a “sham” and alleged it willingly conducted its activities outside of the U.S. and obscured the location of its headquarters with the aim of evading U.S. regulations.
Related: What criminal charges for Celsius ex-CEO mean for crypto industry
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also sued Binance and Zhao on June 5 alleging it sold unregistered securities, allowed U.S. customers to use its global platform and claimed Zhao misused customer funds.
The SEC’s complaint claimed Binance’s compliance chief in 2018 — believed to be Lim — said in a message to another compliance officer that “we are operating as a fking unlicensed securities exchange in the USA bro”
Binance is also reportedly under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for allowing Russians to use its platform in violation of U.S. sanctions.
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A hostile environment era deportation policy for criminals is being expanded by the Labour government as it continues its migration crackdown.
The government wants to go further in extraditing foreign offenders before they have a chance to appeal by including more countries in the existing scheme.
Offenders that have a human right appeal rejected will get offshored, and further appeals will then get heard from abroad.
It follows the government announcing on Saturday that it wants to deport criminals as soon as they are sentenced.
The “deport now, appeal later” policy was first introduced when Baroness Theresa May was home secretary in 2014 as part of the Conservative government’s hostile environment policy to try and reduce migration.
It saw hundreds of people returned to a handful of countries like Kenya and Jamaica under Section 94B of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, added in via amendment.
In 2017, a Supreme Court effectively stopped the policy from being used after it was challenged on the grounds that appealing from abroad was not compliant with human rights.
However, in 2023, then home secretary Suella Braverman announced she was restarting the policy after providing more facilities abroad for people to lodge their appeals.
Now, the current government says it is expanding the partnership from eight countries to 23.
Previously, offenders were being returned to Finland, Nigeria, Estonia, Albania, Belize, Mauritius, Tanzania and Kosovo for remote hearings.
Angola, Australia, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Uganda and Zambia are the countries being added – with the government wanting to include more.
Read more:
Govt vows to deport foreign criminals immediately
First migrants detained under returns deal with France
Theresa May’s hostile environment policy proved controversial. Pic: PA
The Home Office claims this is the “the government’s latest tool in its comprehensive approach to scaling up our ability to remove foreign criminals”, touting 5,200 removals of foreign offenders since July 2024 – an increase of 14% compared with the year before.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Those who commit crimes in our country cannot be allowed to manipulate the system, which is why we are restoring control and sending a clear message that our laws must be respected and will be enforced.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “We are leading diplomatic efforts to increase the number of countries where foreign criminals can be swiftly returned, and if they want to appeal, they can do so safely from their home country.
“Under this scheme, we’re investing in international partnerships that uphold our security and make our streets safer.”
Both ministers opposed the hostile environment policy when in opposition.
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In 2015, Sir Keir Starmer had questioned whether such a policy was workable – saying in-person appeals were the norm for 200 years and had been a “highly effective way of resolving differences”.
He also raised concerns about the impact on children if parents were deported and then returned after a successful appeal.
In today’s announcement, the prime minister’s administration said it wanted to prevent people from “gaming the system” and clamp down on people staying in the UK for “months or years” while appeals are heard.
Despite Trump’s pro-crypto stance, Unicoin CEO says US banks continue closing accounts for crypto firms under “Operation Chokepoint.”
TRM Labs says the Embargo ransomware group has moved over $34 million in ransom-linked crypto since April, targeting US hospitals and critical infrastructure.
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