Binance Transfers $12 Billion to Zhao CEO’s Holding Company: SEC | CoinDesk JAPAN | CoinDesk Japan

Crypto exchange Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and executive Guangying Chen have received billions of dollars in client money through their holding company, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said. He argued in new court documents.

The SEC said the money was sent to companies owned by Zhao through an intermediate holding company called Key Vision Development Limited.

Evidence of these charges comes from the testimony of SEC accountant Sachin Verma, part of the SEC’s allegations asking the court to sign a temporary injunction to freeze the assets of Binance US. used as part of

“The SEC found that an entity owned by the CEO, who was allegedly trading on Binance US using Zhao’s personal funds, ‘passed through’ billions of dollars in funds from Binance Platforms customers. ‘we were unable to determine why it functioned as an account,’ the court filing reads.

The SEC said Velma’s analysis of bank statements of Binance and Zhao’s affiliates found that $12 billion went to CEO Zhao and $162 million to a Singapore company owned by Guanyin Cheng. claimed to be.

It has been revealed that Zhao and Chen used their names to manage a number of companies whose ties to Binance were not clear. According to the SEC, most of the funds sent to Zhao and Mr. Chen are now in “offshore” accounts.

Mr. Cheng is Binance’s administrative and financial manager, who was allegedly in control of Binance.US accounts in recent reports, which contradicts Binance.US’s independence.

Binance has publicly denied conflating customer deposits with company funds, saying Zhao’s Merit Peak holding is a vehicle for the CEO to trade “self-earned assets.” there is

The SEC has been investigating Binance.US since at least 2020, and despite telling regulators and the general public that it was a separate entity, Binance.US has until December 2022 to hold Binance.US’ assets. It claims to have been managed and stored.

The court will hold a hearing on June 13 regarding the temporary injunction against Binance US assets.

｜Translation: coindesk JAPAN
｜Editing: Takayuki Masuda
｜Image: Binance CEO Changpong Zhao (Casper Labs)
｜Original: Binance Redirected $12B to Firms Controlled by CEO Changpeng Zhao, SEC Says