SEC Seeks to Freeze Binance’s Assets

The SEC has filed a temporary restraining order yesterday to further expedite its Monday enforcement action, which requested a freeze of assets, including cryptocurrencies, held by Binance, Binance.US, and their owner Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao.

The commission alleges that Zhao and Binance executives redirected customer funds to his personal investment funds, such as to purchase an $11 million yacht and BUSD, and is seeking a federal judge to order Zhao and the companies to provide sworn verified accounting of their finances.

The order would also allow Binance.US to continue allowing customers to redeem their holdings, but would prevent Zhao and Binance from hiding assets.

Critics have noted that Binance released a partial, albeit controversial, accounting of its finances conducted by the Mazars Group late last year, but did not disclose its liabilities, a key omission which led Mazars to suspend its work with crypto firms.