The former head of the SEC’s Internet Enforcement Office suggests the SEC has reason to be excited following Binance’s settlement with the US Department of Justice yesterday.
Stark claims the SEC now has a trove of Binance-related evidence from various allegations, including the admission of the facts in the Nov. 21 statement.
Test against Binance
Stark reports that the SEC now has a new evidentiary record of wide-ranging allegations and claims, which together create cannon fodder for SEC investigators and litigants to strengthen their allegations related to Binance.
As part of this finding, he mentions independent monitoring, specifically in the part of the plea agreement that states that Binance must hire a monitor for three years. As just one of multiple checks ordered by the US Department of Justice, Stark alleges that FinCEN and the US Treasury Department will undoubtedly create extraordinary opportunities for Gary Gensler and the rest of the SEC investigation and litigation identify new evidence.
Stark also says that when the SEC references criminal conduct at the world’s largest exchange, the characterizations will now be fact rather than hyperbole.
Allegations against Zhao
On June 5, the SEC alleged that Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao had spun an “extensive web of deception” by lying to both regulators and their customers. The 13-claim complaint suggests Zhao was diverting client funds to another entity he owned that would allow the exchange’s American clients to trade on its main platform despite publicly stating otherwise.
The SEC also alleged that Binance failed to register its own crypto products as securities offerings, including BNB and Binance USD, and various lending products.
