US authorities have accused the cryptocurrency exchange Binance of illegal practices.
Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao were sued by the CFTC.
The cryptocurrency exchange took a “calculated” approach to soliciting US clients in violation of federal regulations, according to a filing of the lawsuit in Illinois federal court on Monday.
The complaint says that Zhao and his former chief compliance officer, Samuel Lim, “cultivated a base of lucrative and commercially significant VIP clients, including institutional clients based in the United States.”
The regulator alleged that Binance failed to register with the agency as a derivatives broker, as required by US law.
The complaint alleges that Binance “facilitated the violation of US law” by helping US clients evade compliance controls and directing clients to mask their locations using virtual private networks, or VPNs.
According to the lawsuit, since launching its platform in 2017, Binance has taken a deliberate approach to increase its presence in the United States despite publicly declaring its alleged intention to “block” or “restrict” US-based customers from accessing its platform.
