coinedition.com
The New York Attorney General Letitia James charged the professional global crypto exchange CoinEx, alleging that the company had been illegally functioning as an unregistered securities broker and commodity broker-dealer.
On Wednesday, the Attorney General filed the petition in the New York Supreme Court stating CoinEx had been engaging in “repeated and persistent fraudulent practices”.
In the appeal, James announced that the court is moving forward for “a permanent injection” terminating CoinEx’s label as a crypto exchange, stating:
Petitioner moves the Court for a permanent injunction to end the ongoing illegal activities of Vino Global Limited doing business as COINEX (“CoinEx” or “Respondent”) which include engaging in the offer, sale, and purchase of securities and commodities without registration in the State of New.
In addition, the petition also accused the crypto exchange of violating the state’s Martin Act, which is considered to be one of the strict anti-fraud and securities regulations in the United States.
As per the petition filed by James, CoinEx owned various tokens and services considered to be securities or commodities under state law. Thus James reiterated that the exchange violated the Martin Act and General Business Law stating:
CoinEx is engaged in the business of selling and offering to sell commodities through accounts, agreements, or contracts to accounts in New York primarily for investment purposes. The Tokens are also securities under the Martin Act because they represent investments of money in common enterprises with profits to be derived primarily from the efforts of others.
Further, the petition claimed that “CoinEx wrongfully represented itself as a global cryptocurrency “exchange” without appropriate registration or designation in violation of New York law”.
Notably, in a Twitter thread posted on February 23, James asserted that the crypto platforms which disregard the laws, “put New York at risk”:
She added that the law has decided to “stop CoinEx from operating in New York” as a part of its efforts to protect the public from the dangers of the crypto industry.