Criminal Charges Talks Spark As Binance Taps Ex-DOJ Prosecutor In SEC Lawsuit
Binance, in its current legal battle against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has enlisted the services of a former enforcement director at the agency. In a surprising turn of events, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange has beefed up its legal team with a former prosecutor at the Department of Justice (DOJ), sparking rumors that the crypto firm might be facing troubles beyond a regulatory nature.
Binance has enlisted the expertise of M. Kendall Day, a former white-collar DOJ prosecutor, to represent the company in its ongoing SEC lawsuit. This development was revealed in a court filing released on Thursday, signaling Binance’s commitment to defending itself against the allegations.
The SEC alleges that Binance mixed customer funds with its own, further intensifying the regulatory scrutiny on the company.
Day spent 15 years at the Justice Department, where he held the position of acting deputy assistant attorney general in the Criminal Division. At present, Day works as a partner at the Washington DC office of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, as mentioned in his biography on the Gibson Dunn website.
During his tenure at the DOJ, Day served as chief of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section. This role granted him nationwide supervisory authority over the department’s anti-money laundering efforts, including handling money laundering charges, deferred prosecution agreements, and non-prosecution agreements involving financial institutions.
Many observers are reading into Day’s addition to the Binance legal team facing the SEC, including how this situation could have criminal components if the crypto firm had to bring in a former DOJ prosecutor to defend regulatory charges. This is even highlighted when it is noted that Day’s expertise lies heavily on anti-money laundering.
In recent weeks, Binance and its affiliated exchange Binance.US have been diligently assembling a robust legal team to confront the SEC’s allegations. In addition to Day, the company has also secured the services of George Canellos, a former co-director of enforcement at the SEC.
The SEC’s charges against Binance, CEO Changpeng Zhao, and Binance.US accuse them of mishandling customer funds, providing misleading information to investors and regulators, and violating securities regulations. The SEC is seeking the return of cryptocurrency belonging to US customers.
The two parties then agreed on a temporary deal that will see customers assets parked in the crypto firm’s US arm will remain in the country, provided that only local employees have access to customer funds.
The Department of Justice and other US agencies have also been conducting investigations into Binance.
Information for this briefing was found via Bloomberg and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
