Binance’s ‘Provocative’ Motion Against SEC Could Expedite Criminal Charges, Warns Former SEC Official

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s former head of web enforcement has warned that Binance’s latest movement accusing the regulator of moral violations may expedite legal costs in opposition to the crypto trade. “Binance’s motion is provocative and Binance’s antagonistic, arrogant, accusatory, and unorthodox ethics battle-cry could fan the flames of whatever Binance-related criminal prosecution is cooking,” the previous SEC official cautioned.

‘Binance Will Regret Having Ever Filed This Motion’

Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official John Reed Stark has offered perception into the potential penalties of Binance’s latest movement in opposition to the regulator, stating that it may expedite the method of bringing legal costs in opposition to the cryptocurrency trade. Stark is presently president of cybersecurity agency John Reed Stark Consulting. He based and served as chief of the SEC Office of Internet Enforcement for 11 years. He was additionally an SEC enforcement legal professional for 15 years.

The former SEC official defined in a tweet Thursday that filed a movement on Wednesday asking the choose overseeing the SEC-Binance enforcement case to forestall SEC attorneys from making public statements asserting that Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) “have mishandled the assets of US-based customers.”

The crypto trade claimed that the securities regulator “has not presented evidence of any alleged commingling” and argued that the watchdog’s publicly stating that Binance has mishandled buyer belongings “dangers tainting the jury pool,” Stark detailed, including:

My take is that Binance will remorse having ever filed this movement.

While acknowledging the potential advantages of Binance’s proposal, together with the potential for prompting the SEC to train extra warning and restraint in its statements concerning the worldwide crypto trade, Stark emphasised: “Using litigation as marketing theater is never recommended when there exists a criminal indictment that is being contemplated or is already filed under seal, which is, IMHO, exactly the situation with Binance.”

The former SEC web enforcement chief continued:

The stark actuality is that Binance’s movement is provocative and Binance’s antagonistic, boastful, accusatory and unorthodox ethics battle-cry may stir up no matter Binance-related legal prosecution is cooking and instigate legal prosecutors to behave now in opposition to Binance.

Stark additional identified that in its pleadings, the SEC said: “It has also been widely reported that Binance and Zhao are under investigation by criminal authorities in the United States.”

He emphasised, “This sort of statement in an SEC pleading is unusual and rare,” noting that “Normally, the SEC is silent about any sort of parallel criminal investigation, especially in its pleadings and public statements.” Stark believes that by mentioning the legal investigation, “the SEC is obviously working with criminal prosecutors and FBI agents — and infers that criminal action could be imminent.”

Stark opined:

By poking the bear and accusing the SEC workers of moral violations and by alleging that the SEC is making deceptive statements about Binance’s alleged fraud and market manipulation, Binance is basically daring the legal authorities to show Binance fallacious.

“This is not a good look for a company already entangled in dynamic and multi-faceted prosecutorial crosshairs,” he famous. The former SEC web enforcement chief additionally identified that there are already stories that Binance is below investigation by French investigators for alleged money laundering.

Earlier this month, Stark urged traders to get out of crypto platforms now, warning that “crypto platforms are under a U.S. regulatory/law enforcement siege which has only just begun.”

Do you agree with former SEC official John Reed Stark that Binance shouldn’t have filed the movement above? Let us know within the feedback part beneath.