- A class action lawsuit has been filed against Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, in the Seattle federal court.
- The lawsuit alleges that Binance facilitated money laundering, involving stolen cryptocurrencies.
- Plaintiffs argue that Binance knowingly promoted illegal activities as part of its business model, violating the RICO statute.
- High-profile attorneys, known for cases against Facebook, opioid manufacturers, and Wells Fargo, are leading the lawsuit.
Recently, a class action was filed against Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, in the federal court of Seattle. The lawsuit alleges that their operations have enabled money laundering at consumers’ expense.
Bill Hughes, legal counsel at ConsenSys, highlighted the case in an X post and referred to the action as an utterly predictable civil lawsuit trying to cash in on prior prosecutions and enforcement action by the government against Binance.
The class action lawsuit, filed by various prominent class action attorneys, charges Binance with facilitating the laundering of stolen cryptocurrencies. The plaintiffs assert that these stolen funds, which were actually taken in hacks and other thefts, were sent through Binance.
According to the lawsuit, Binance knew about such activity and even promoted it as part of its business model, which the plaintiffs argue is illegal racketeering under the RICO statute. The lawsuit has sought treble damages, which can be tripled if the plaintiffs win.
High-Profile Lawyers Take on Binance
The lawyers that are in charge of the lawsuit are known for their high-profile cases in the past. In the past, they have defended the classes in lawsuits against Facebook over consumer privacy issues, the manufacturers of opioids, and Wells Fargo over fraudulent accounts. Their involvement indicates that they have a high level of confidence in this case, as they have the capability to proceed with the case aggressively.
The main accusation in the lawsuit is that without Binance’s involvement, the transparent nature of the blockchain transactions would have allowed the victims to recover their stolen funds. This assertion is about the possible effects of the lawsuit on the industry in general, especially regarding the success of blockchain analytics and on-chain asset recovery.
If the case goes into discovery or pre-trial motions, it has the potential to emphasize exactly how blockchain tracing and digital-asset recovery businesses work, bringing attention from law enforcement agencies like the FBI and IRS.
However, he further speculated that Binance may settle the case before it reaches those stages, saying Zhao might just resolve the matter by opening his wallet and making the lawsuit disappear. This would avoid going deep into issues with blockchain tracing and recovery in general.
Related Reading | Dogecoin (DOGE) on the Rise: Potential 513% Surge to $0.6533 Amid Bullish Signals
