The probe is tied to Binance’s staking, clearing, and brokerage services which the SEC alleged violates the Securities law.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Binance.US of not cooperating in the matter against it before the court.
The probe is tied to Binance’s staking, clearing, and brokerage services which the SEC alleged violates the Securities law.
SEC: Binance not cooperating
In a filing dated September 14, the SEC noted that Binance has shown non-cooperation in the ongoing probe against it.
The regulator explained that Binance.US’s holding company BAM has submitted 220 documents during the discovery process. According to the filing, most of the documents under the consent order contained “unintelligible screenshots and documents without dates or signatures.”
The holding company has also failed to produce essential witnesses for deposition. It opted to produce four witnesses of its choice to depose. .
“BAM has responded to requests for relevant communications with blanket objections and has refused to produce documents kept in the ordinary course of its business, claiming those documents do not exist, only for the SEC to later receive such documents from other sources,” the SEC said in the filing.
The filing contends that the limited cooperation of BAM suggests that the company is violating the terms of the consent order.
The order, which was agreed to by the parties, sought to restrict access to customer funds to local US staff only rather than pause operations totally.
Read more: Binance considers a ‘full exit’ from Russia as regulatory pressure mounts
Binance.US calls accusations a fishing expedition
In a previous filing on September 12, Binance.US had dismissed the alleged concerns as “much ado about nothing” and the demand for more documents as a futile fishing expedition.
The cryptocurrency exchange maintained that just because the Ceffu wallet creation software is available, it doesn’t mean that its international business has custody of or access to customer cash.
Binance.US recently announced a large staff cut, laying off one-third of its staff in the middle of these regulatory concerns. The CEO of Binance.US, Brian Shorder, joined a long list of top Binance executives who have left the company this year. The chief legal officer and the chief risk officer of the exchange both left the company shortly after.
An upcoming hearing focusing on the protective orders is scheduled for September 18.
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