Binance criminal indictment may already be filed under seal, former SEC chief says

Quick Take

  • John Reed Stark believes the U.S. DOJ will file, or has already filed under seal, a Binance-related criminal indictment.
  • The 19-year SEC veteran sees money laundering charges as the DOJ’s way into the action.

John Reed Stark argues that the United States Department of Justice will file — or has already filed under seal — a Binance-related criminal indictment.

"There exist a litany of indicators that U.S. DOJ will file, or has already filed under seal, a Binance-related criminal indictment," the 19-year Securities and Exchange Commission veteran and former SEC Office of Internet Enforcement chief tweeted.

"To me, the CFTC and SEC complaints read more like criminal indictments, replete with allegations of fraud, deception, obstruction of justice and money laundering," Reed added.

Binance under siege from regulators

The SEC sued Binance, the largest crypto exchange by volume, over several violations of the country's securities laws on June 5. The regulator also filed a motion to freeze crypto assets held by Binance.US and owner Changpeng Zhao.

A 76-page Commodities and Futures Trading Commission complaint, meanwhile, claims certain parties at the exchange were aware that some were using the exchange for criminal activities — drawing parallels to collapsed rival FTX — but leaves the door open for the DOJ to charge the exchange on money laundering.

"Neither the CFTC or SEC case intensely focus on money laundering," Reed noted. In his opinion, "that is the prosecutorial space that has been carved out and reserved for a U.S. DOJ criminal prosecution relating to Binance."

"My take is that U.S. DOJ is working with the SEC, CFTC and multiple informants/whistleblowers, and the next axe to fall is the filing, or unsealing of, Binance-related criminal charges," Reed concluded, adding: "Fail not at your peril."

In preparation for its legal defense against regulators in the U.S., Binance.US added four lawyers from Milbank LLP to its legal team — including former co-director of the SEC's Enforcement Division, George Canellos.


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About Author

Adam is the managing editor for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He is based in central Europe and was a managing editor and podcast host at the crypto exchange OKX's former research arm, OKX Insights. Before that, he co-founded BeInCrypto.com, which he elevated into one of the leading crypto media brands at its peak as the editor-in-chief. Earlier, he served as the editor-in-chief at Bitcoinist.com. Before joining the blockchain and crypto industry, he worked for Looper.com, Grunge.com and SVG.com. He tweets via @XBT002 and can be emailed at [email protected].

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