Few days back, Binance had filed a request in the US court seeking protection from the actions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Now, a former SEC official has commented on exchange’s notice.
According to John Reed Stark, formerly the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement chief, the Binance’s motion against SEC might be on shaky grounds. In its original filing, BAM complained that the SEC demanded excessive information and depositions of numerous employees. The agency aimed to obtain a protective order from the courts which would allow the SEC to depose just four of BAM’s employees, excluding its CEO and CFO, while preventing the regulator from making overbroad inquiries.
While the court has not yet official made a decision on the motion, the former official critically weighed on the issue and predicted a very likely outcome. Stark said that it is likely that the SEC has demanded too much information and that BAM has requested too much in its protective order.
Furthermore, he stated that the two parties in the case will need to reach a compromise on the matter. He added about the SEC’s previously obtained a consent order or temporary restraining order against Binance.US.
According to Stark, this allows for expedited discovery, meaning that courts must resolve disputes more quickly than usual though the process is otherwise routine. He also predicted that Judge Amy Berman Jackson would pass the matter to a magistrate judge, something that occurred later in the day as Judge Jackson referred Binance.US’s motion to Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui in a court filing.
Concluding his views, Stark said that he believes that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will soon unseal or file an indictment related to Binance, complicating the SEC case further. As is evident all these matters all relate to an ongoing case that the SEC initiated against Binance from June.
The US SEC has filed 13 charges against the exchanges for commingling users’ funds and operating without a license. Simultaneously, the exchange has also received a lawsuit from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alleging that the exchange offered unregistered derivatives products in the U.S., including cryptocurrency trading services, futures, and options products.
Simultaneously, troubles for the exchange are overflowing as the US DoJ is also investigating the exchange for money laundering concerns and violating economic sanctions on Russia. On top of it, amid the global crackdown, various countries have risen against the exchange including Brazil, Netherlands, France, Austria, Cyprus, and Germany.