Lately, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is reconsidering its selection of a law firm to serve as an independent watchdog for the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
The issue at hand pertains to Binance’s past collaborations with the defunct FTX exchange, which led to the monitoring agreements as part of a $4.3 billion settlement. In this agreement, Binance admitted to breaking US anti-money laundering laws and trade restrictions.
The DOJ is considering new approaches for overseeing this project in light of recent progress, while FinCEN from the Treasury Department plans to keep collaborating with the law firm.
Binance Monitorship In Question
Based on a Bloomberg article, it seemed that Sullivan & Cromwell were on the verge of being selected as Binance’s independent monitor by the DOJ and FinCEN in February. But later, criticism regarding Sullivan & Cromwell’s connection to FTX caused uneasiness within the DOJ.
Based on information from reliable sources, the agency is currently considering other possible choices for the position of monitor. The Department of Justice and a representative from FinCEN chose not to provide comments, while Sullivan & Cromwell failed to respond to Bloomberg’s inquiries.
Sullivan & Cromwell acted as FTX’s legal representative both prior and following the exchange’s bankruptcy filing in November 2022. Their crucial contribution involved tracing vast amounts of assets – from real estate holdings and digital wallets filled with cryptocurrencies to executives’ personal bank accounts – in order to facilitate creditor restitution efforts.
Sulllivan & Cromwell, which has charged more than $170 million for its involvement in FTX’s bankruptcy case, has been under scrutiny for not apparently uncovering the deceitful actions of FTX’s co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried prior to the filing.
Investigation Into Law Firm’s Work
Bankman-Fried, currently facing a 25-year prison term for allegedly misappropriating billions of dollars from FTX clients, is attempting to pass the responsibility onto Sullivan & Cromwell and other external legal advisors as part of his defense argument. Nevertheless, Sullivan & Cromwell insists that their connection to FTX was minimal.
The new leadership at the exchange has spoken out in support of Sullivan & Cromwell, rejecting what they describe as a misleading account pushed by Bankman-Fried and others. Simultaneously, an impartial bankruptcy examiner is probing into Sullivan & Cromwell’s representation of the exchange amidst ongoing legal actions from FTX clients.
The dispute between Sullivan & Cromwell and other parties has led to setbacks in the process of picking a monitor for Binance’s oversight, as agreed upon in their plea deal on November 21st. Initial plans called for the US government and Binance to select a monitor within two months following the agreement.
The monitor’s job is to oversee Binance’s adherence to the contract’s conditions and obtain permission to inspect the company’s internal documents, premises, and staff members. Subsequently, they will report these findings to the relevant government authorities.
Approximately ten thousand questionable transactions that were earlier overlooked are now under investigation by Binance, requiring them to identify and report these findings.
At present, the value of BNB, the native token for the exchange, is at $537 – a significant decrease of around 7% compared to the previous day’s price. It’s worth mentioning that this downward trend in BNB’s price has continued for an extended timeframe, with a recorded drop of approximately 5.2% over the past month.
Read More
- BTC PREDICTION. BTC cryptocurrency
- LUNC PREDICTION. LUNC cryptocurrency
- MNT PREDICTION. MNT cryptocurrency
- Best Goomba Characters In Mario Games, Ranked
- BCH PREDICTION. BCH cryptocurrency
- USD RUB PREDICTION
- SOL PREDICTION. SOL cryptocurrency
- Destiny 2 Player Transforms Their Warlock Into Team Fortress 2’s Medic
- Survival Horror Games With an Unkillable Enemy
- Marvel Rivals Players Aren’t Happy With The Gold Rank Competitive Reward
2024-04-16 23:11