Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the former CEO of Binance
$6.95B
The case centers on a 2021 deal where FTX used crypto to buy back its shares from Binance.
Zhao stated in an August 4 court filing in Delaware that the case tries to hold him responsible for actions taken by FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.
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He argued that none of the events tied to the share buyback took place in the United States. He pointed out that the Binance firms involved are based in Ireland, the Cayman Islands, and the British Virgin Islands.
Because the deal happened outside the US, Zhao’s lawyers said the legal rules being used in the case do not apply. They also argued that Zhao did not control or receive the crypto involved. The agreement used two tokens, Binance USD (BUSD) and FTX Token (FTT).
According to Zhao’s legal team, he was not the one who received the funds and only acted as a “nominal counterparty” in the transaction.
FTX also claimed that Zhao’s posts on X added to its collapse. Just before FTX filed for bankruptcy, Zhao posted about Binance selling off its FTT holdings.
Zhao argued that FTX’s failure came from its own wrongdoing. His filing described the company as “a fraudulent enterprise” and argued that it would have collapsed regardless of what he said.
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