Binance.US Opposes SEC, Calls Requests “Unduly Burdensome” in New Filing

Binance.US has called the ‘compel and reply’ motion by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unreasonable and “unduly burdensome.”

According to court documents filed on Sept. 12 by BAM Trading Services, the legal entity of Binance.US, the exchange claims the depositions requested by the Commission are overboard.

Following the consent order after the SEC sought to freeze assets belonging to the defendants, the Commission is seeking fresh interrogatories and testimonies from CEO Brian Shrider and Jasmine Lee, the chief financial officer.

“BAM’s CEO and CFO have no unique knowledge regarding facts relevant to the limited topics identified in the consent order’s expedited discovery provision.”

The defendant’s attorneys also pointed out that Brian and Lee are not involved in the day-to-day running of the exchange and therefore do not “identify any evidence.” 

The lawyers also stated that the claims of the SEC border on custody, transfer, and commingling of user assets, therefore, seeking witness statements from the CFO and CEO is a stretch as they have been voluntarily offered depositions from staff with direct knowledge of the matter including Erik Kellogg, the chief information security officer. 

“The burden imposed by these depositions far outweighs their potential benefit, and the discovery sought is disproportionate to the needs contemplated by the consent order,” they added. 

In June, the SEC leveled allegations on Binance.US and Coinbase which both institutions vowed to vigorously defend expressly denying all allegations.

Binance claims SEC is “misleading and mistaking” 

The recent move by the defendants comes after both parties agreed on a protective motion to file confidential information under seal on September 11 granting access to only the judge, lawyers, and both parties. 

Attorneys of the exchange claim that they have acted in good faith to the requests of the SEC even though the Commission has failed to identify even the slightest evidence to prove its case. 

According to them, the SEC has “has “no evidence to support its unsubstantiated allegations” on the diversion of user funds referring to allegations in its cross-motion as “misleading and mistaken.” 

Finally, they called out the Commission over its recent approach against the agreement for limited expedited recovery in the consent order. 

This year, the SEC’s renewed regulatory scrutiny has led to multiple lawsuits with many crypto executives and enthusiasts firing shots at the Gary Gensler-led regulator.

In a recent development, Gary Gensler remains unfazed by recent critics including two major court defeats as he maintains his stance that most assets are securities. 

Gensler is expected at the US Senate Banking Committee hearing to present his released testimony on the state of regulation so far.

“Given this industry’s wide-ranging noncompliance with the securities laws, it’s not surprising that we’ve seen many problems in these markets. We’ve seen this story before,” the testimony reads.