$BTC

Changpeng Zhao

Legal troubles

Civil lawsuits

On 27 March 2023, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Binance and Zhao in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claiming willful evasion of US law and allegedly breaching derivatives rules.[19][20] The agency accused Binance of breaking rules intended to thwart money laundering operations,[21] pointing to internal communications describing transactions by Palestinian militant organization Hamas, and suspected criminals.[19]

In June 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Zhao and Binance on 13 charges for alleged violations of US securities rules.[22][23][24]

In November 2024, FTX filed a lawsuit against Binance Holdings Ltd., Changpeng Zhao, and other Binance executives, seeking to recover nearly $1.8 billion that FTX alleges was fraudulently transferred. The case centers on a July 2021 stock repurchase transaction in which Binance sold its stakes—approximately 20% of FTX’s international unit and 18.4% of its U.S.-based entity—to FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried.[25]