- Binance hires former officials from DOJ and SEC to strengthen its legal defense.
- M. Kendall Day, a former DOJ white-collar prosecutor, joins Binance’s legal team to represent the firm in the SEC case.
- The giant crypto exchange has been under US investigation since 2018 for alleged AML violations.
In a bold move to reinforce its legal defense, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has hired former officials from both the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), despite facing investigations from these very agencies.
According to Bloomberg’s report, Binance’s latest addition to its growing legal team is M. Kendall Day, a former white-collar prosecutor at the DOJ who will represent the firm in the SEC case. Day brings with him 15 years of experience as the former acting deputy assistant attorney general at the Criminal Division. He was also chief of the department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.
The SEC lawsuit is just one of the legal challenges faced by the crypto exchange. Binance has recently been in the spotlight due to an increasing number of investigations by other US government agencies, including the DOJ.
Going back on the same month the SEC filed 13 charges against the giant exchange, Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) requested a DOJ investigation into Binance and its sister company Binance US for potentially making false statements to Congress. The Senators argue that the SEC’s allegations contradict Binance’s claims about their regulatory compliance and entity separation.The DOJ’s investigation of Binance dates back to at least May, when the agency began probing the exchange for possible violations of Russian sanctions. The agency is investigating whether Binance was involved in facilitating illegal activities, allowing Russians to bypass U.S. sanctions and move money through the exchange. To date, neither Binance nor its executives have been charged of any wrongdoing.
Interestingly, Binance has been under investigation in the US since 2018, including in an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations inquiry by the DOJ. The investigation reportedly focuses on Binance’s alleged involvement in money laundering, unlicensed money transmission, and criminal sanctions violations.
To fortify its legal defense amid these challenges, Binance has gone on a hiring spree, securing experienced professionals to join the team. Recently, Binance US hired former SEC enforcement co-director George Canellos and three other lawyers from Milbank LLP.
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