Several firings have been made at Binance’s US affiliate after it was accused of breaking securities laws by regulators and having its assets frozen, according to two people with information on the situation and statements made on social media by employees.
According to one of the reports, 50 workers were fired. Reuters could not independently verify the number of impacted employees or their seniority. Emails and calls for a response from the spokesperson for Binance.US went unanswered. Employees from the legal, compliance, and risk departments of Binance.US were among those dismissed, the people told Reuters on condition of confidentiality because the situation is private
On June 5, the SEC accused Binance and Changpeng Zhao, the company’s founder, and CEO, of using Binance.US as part of a “web of deception” to get around securities regulations meant to safeguard American investors. Binance promised to defend itself “vigorously.” In a separate lawsuit, the SEC accused BAM Trading, the operating business of Binance.US, of misleading investors about “non-existent trading” restrictions on its platform.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expressed concern that Binance.US could shift more than $2.2 billion in cryptocurrency and about $377 million in U.S. dollar bank accounts offshore, and the organization later requested a federal court to freeze the exchange’s assets a day after the accusations were made. The request was deemed “unwarranted” by Binance.US, and the SEC’s accusations were deemed “unjustified.”
On Wednesday, two Binance.US employees announced their departure from the company on LinkedIn, with one claiming a “round of layoffs.
