- Control over Binance.US took place in 2019 and 2020
- Representatives deny this information
- Binance.US transferred $145 million to accounts of a company controlled by CZ
- This firm then bought the yacht
Reuters reports that cryptocurrency exchange Binance controlled the bank accounts of Binance.US. The report says that a senior Binance executive acted as the operator of five bank accounts belonging to an “independent” U.S. branch of the company.
It is known that between 2019 and 2020, Binance executive Guanying Chen managed these accounts with the support of Silvergate Bank, an American bank. In this way she was able to send funds that were stored in these accounts. Some employees in the U.S. unit had to turn to Chen to process payments, even related to payroll.
The statement writes that the exchange had control over its U.S. unit, though both companies have repeatedly said they were completely independent.Unpublished bank records reveal that Binance exercised control over the U.S. company’s finances, including its bank accounts at Silvergate.
A month ago, Binance.US lawyer Krishna Juwwadi said that Binance never managed the bank accounts. He added that employees of BAM Trading (the operator of the U.S. unit), had “exclusive control” over the accounts from 2019.
It was previously reported that Chen’s deputy managed one account that transferred more than $400 million a year to a trading firm controlled by Zhao. Binance.US claimed that Merit Peak withdrew its own assets, which it gained from trading on the exchange.
After the Reuters announcement, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Binance. It writes that the U.S. division of the exchange transferred $145 million to the accounts of a company that is owned by CZ. Subsequently, this firm bought the yacht.