cryptoslate.com
Embattled cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its executives, including CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao and chief compliance officer Samuel Lim, have filed a motion to dismiss the charges levelled against them by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as per a court filing dated July 24.
In the filing, the exchange and its executives requested that the court allow them to file a longer memoranda of law above 15 pages.
The filing clarified that Zhao and the foreign Binance entities attached to the suit want to file a joint motion to dismiss, while Lim will file a separate motion to dismiss and join parts of the motion by CZ and Binance entities. The firm argued that:
“Defendants endeavored to comply with the page limit of Local Rule 7.1. But given the complexity of the CFTC’s Complaint and the number of arguments Defendants anticipate making in support of their Motions to Dismiss, Defendants anticipate that their Memoranda of Law in support of the two motions will exceed the fifteen-page limits.”
Binance’s response to the CFTC complaints is due by July 27. The exchange stated that the regulator does not oppose its motion seeking leave to file excess pages.
CFTC sued Binance in March, alleging that the firm violated U.S. derivatives laws by offering its services to U.S. residents without registering. Additionally, the financial watchdog accused the exchange of encouraging users in the U.S. to access its platform through a VPN.
While Binance has denied these claims and described the lawsuit as disappointing, the firm has faced further troubles from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The regulator accused the exchange of violating federal securities law.
Furthermore, Binance has encountered regulatory obstacles in other jurisdictions, leading to its exit from several countries, such asCanada, Netherlands, and Cyprus, among others.
Amid these challenges, the exchange recently reduced employee benefits following a discreet layoff of thousands of its staff.