Nearly 1,700 UK investors sue Binance, founder CZ over alleged unauthorized derivatives sales

Nearly 1,700 UK investors filed a group lawsuit against Binance, its founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao, and Abu Dhabi-based Nest Exchange in London's High Court on June 29, alleging the exchange sold unauthorized crypto derivatives to retail traders for years without regulatory approval.

The claim form, filed by KP Law on behalf of 1,692 claimants led by Tomas Sutas, alleges the defendants promoted and sold leveraged tokens, cryptocurrency futures, options, and margin trading products to UK consumers from around Sept. 13, 2019, in breach of the UK's Financial Services and Markets Act.

The filing argues that the sales violated the act's general prohibition on carrying out regulated activity without authorization, and that the promotion of the products separately breached the act's rules on unauthorized financial promotions.

Claimants are seeking recovery of money and property paid, plus compensation for losses and interest under the Senior Courts Act 1981.

The suit also names CZ and Binance Holdings as accessories, arguing they acted in common design with the parties that operated the platform. A fourth defendant, listed only as "Persons Unknown," covers other entities that ran the Binance trading platform.

Per court documents, the claim form states that the claimants are seeking damages "in excess of £200,000" ($264,900), which is the minimum bracket for the £10,067 court fee payable at filing.

KP Law separately told outlets like Reuters that the group is pursuing more than £150 million ($200 million) in total, a figure that doesn't appear on the claim form itself.

"Strict compliance with UK regulations is a top priority for Binance," a company spokesperson told The Block, adding that the exchange remains committed to its obligations to users and plans to defend the claims through the appropriate legal process in due course.

The lawsuit follows Binance's 2023 guilty plea to U.S. money-laundering and sanctions charges, which carried $4.3 billion in penalties and a four-month prison term for CZ, who was later pardoned by President Donald Trump.

It also lands days after Binance withdrew its bid for a Greek MiCA license, with CZ telling The Block the application was "fully compliant" and close to approval before unnamed political forces intervened.