CZ Says “Bye-Bye” to $1.8B FTX Lawsuit with a Legal Twist 🧐💸

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Changpeng Zhao, or CZ as he’s fondly known, has decided to play the ultimate game of legal dodgeball, filing a motion to dismiss the whopping $1.76 billion lawsuit thrown at him by the FTX bankruptcy trust. A classic move. He argues that the court has no jurisdiction over him, because, well, he’s living the dream in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 🚀

CZ’s Master Plan

In a plot twist worthy of a legal drama, CZ’s legal team submitted this motion on Monday to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. They argue that the whole affair falls so far outside the court’s jurisdiction, it’s practically orbiting another galaxy. The claims, they argue, are so detached from Delaware (and, frankly, from the U.S. itself) that the applicable laws don’t even apply. Oh, the joys of international law! 🌍

“The claims are so far removed from Delaware and even the United States that the statutes at issue, which lack extraterritorial application, do not even apply,” said his lawyers in their filing. Bold words, indeed.

For those keeping score, this lawsuit, filed back in November 2024, accuses Zhao, Binance, and a few former executives of pocketing billions of dollars in funds that were allegedly misappropriated by FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). The lawsuit centers on a 2021 deal where Binance sold back its stake in FTX’s international and U.S. operations. Apparently, Binance was sitting pretty with a 20% share in the international unit and 18.4% in the U.S. one. 🏦

Now, according to court records, Alameda Ltd, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands (of course), transferred the funds for FTX, while Binance’s entities were registered in various exotic locales like Ireland, the Cayman Islands, and the British Virgin Islands. CZ’s legal eagles are making the case that this makes the whole transaction a foreign affair-one that American courts should not be meddling in. Oh, and CZ was allegedly just a “nominal counterparty,” not deep in the weeds. 🍃

As for the drama with FTX, CZ’s lawyers described it as a “temporary fling” that ended in a bitter breakup due to personal squabbles. Post-split, Binance’s stake was exchanged for some shiny new cryptocurrency. The lawsuit, CZ argues, is just a poor attempt to pin the FTX disaster on him and Binance, when the true culprit is none other than SBF’s alleged bad behavior. And serving legal papers through U.S. lawyers? Totally invalid when the defendant is living abroad, apparently. No one’s above international legal nuance. 🤷‍♂️

And It’s Not Just CZ…

This isn’t just CZ’s problem. Former Binance executives Samuel Wenjun Lim and Dinghua Xiao have also filed motions to dismiss, claiming they don’t belong in this drama either. In fact, they’re trying to weasel their way out of the case altogether. 😅

Let’s not forget, CZ did complete a four-month stint in prison last year after pleading guilty to U.S. anti-money laundering violations. Meanwhile, SBF is living the dream in prison, serving 25 years for fraud and conspiracy. Some people just can’t catch a break. 😬

In other news, the defunct exchange, FTX, has announced it will be dishing out the next batch of creditor claims on September 30. As of August 2025, it has returned a cool $6.2 billion to former customers. No one ever said a good bankruptcy was easy, folks.

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2025-08-06 23:22