The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Binance on June 5, alleging that the exchange was involved in the sale of unregistered securities. In its 136-page complaint, the SEC accuses Binance and its founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, of participating in a complex conspiracy that involved fraud, conflicts of interest, a lack of disclosure and willful disregard for the law.
The claims, according to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, center on deceiving investors about risk controls, tampering with trade volumes, hiding crucial operational data, and flouting U.S. securities laws. In order to avoid regulatory scrutiny, Binance allegedly created weak controls while secretly disobeying them to keep its highly valuable U.S. customers.