SEC pushes for court order against Binance US amid ‘uncooperative’ stance

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Binance.US of failing to cooperate, according to a Sept. 14 court filing.

SEC says Binance.US failed to provide the requested information

In the filing, the financial regulator stated that the exchange’s holding company, BAM Holdings, had produced 220 documents of mainly unintelligible screenshots without dates or signatures.

The SEC further claimed that the firm  refused to produce essential witnesses for deposition, adding that it “responded to requests for relevant communications with blanket objections and has refused to produce documents kept in the ordinary course of its business.”

Additionally, the SEC claimed that Binance.US redirected its inquiry into the custody of customer assets to an offshore custodian named Ceffu. According to the financial watchdog, the crypto exchange had initially refused to provide the required information about its connection with Ceffu before making a turnaround and asking the regulator to ask Ceffu for details on
how it created BAM’s wallets.

“Defendants still cannot credibly explain the continued role of the Binance Entities in the custody and control of BAM’s crypto assets and Customer Crypto Assets or provide credible evidence that BAM personnel maintain sole possession, custody, and control of BAM company and Customer Assets in the United States.”

Consequently, the SEC is seeking a court order to compel the embattled exchange to produce the requested documents and to reject its opposition to the original consent order. Additionally, the SEC requests a 14-day extension for the discovery period, pending approval of its latest court filing.

Meanwhile, Binance.US had sought court protection from the regulator’s request for information which it had described as “troubling and inappropriate.” According to the firm, the SEC’s requests are a “fishing expedition” that is “overbroad and unreasonable.”

Binance.US top executives leave.

Several top executives of Binance.US and about one-third of its staff, including CEO Brian Shroder, head of legal Krishna Juvvadi, and chief risk officer Sidney Majalya, left the company over the past week.

The exchange had told CryptoSlate that the exits were necessary as it gave the platform more than seven years of financial runway to continue operating as a crypto-only exchange.

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