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CZ noted that these defamatory statements were deliberately written to malign him and mislead readers into believing that they engage in illegal or unsavory activities.
Binance Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao has dragged Bloomberg Businessweek’s Hong Kong publisher Modern Media CL to court for publishing statements he described as defamatory.
The origin of this issue can be traced back to June 23, when Bloomberg Businessweek published a profile of the crypto chief titled “Can Crypto’s Richest Man Stand the Cold?”
After the original publication, Bloomberg’s local partner in Hong Kong, Modern Media CL, published a translated version of the piece.
This version carried a headline that can be translated to be “Zhao Changpeng’s Ponzi Scheme.”
In a copy of the filing against the media organization submitted to the High Court of Hong Kong, CZ argued that the published statements were deliberately designed to stir up hatred, contempt, and ridicule against him.
“They tended to lower in the estimation of right-thinking members of society in general, in particular the members (existing or potential) of the crypto community and commercial counterparties (existing or potential) of [Zhao],” the filing read in part.
He prayed that the court order the media organization to issue a retraction of the publication and immediately commence the removal of the edition from newsstands.
He is also demanding a restraining order to prevent any of the defendants from further spreading the portrayal.
Meanwhile, back in the United States where the article was originally published, Binance CEO has also taken up issues with Bloomberg Businessweek.
In a Memorandum of Law filed in New York on Friday, CZ, through his legal counsel, argued that the original English-language version of the article was also filled with defamatory statements.
He explained that the article contained several serious and defamatory allegations against him and his company without credible bases.
CZ noted that these defamatory statements were deliberately written to malign him and mislead readers into believing that they engage in illegal or unsavory activities.
He questioned the publication statements like “at Binance the sketchiness has a certain completeness to it” and that Binance is “a massive shitcoin casino”
He added that even though most journalists at Bloomberg were good, the publication was a shift away from the norms.
This legal tussle represents the latest in Zhao’s unrelenting efforts to protect his personal image and company profile.
Recall that in 2020, the Binance chief filed a complaint against Forbes in the United States over allegedly defamatory statements.
In the suit, he alleged that the publication and two reporters made unsubstantiated claims that Binance had an “elaborate corporate structure designed to intentionally deceive regulators and surreptitiously profit from crypto investors in the United States.” The suit was later dropped.