In the ongoing legal battle between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Binance, the defendants filed a motion seeking permission to exceed the standard page limit for their response to the CFTC’s complaint. The motion was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 24, 2023.
Defendants in the case include Binance Holdings Ltd., Binance Holdings (IE) Ltd., Binance (Services) Holdings, Ltd. (collectively, “Binance Foreign Entities”), Changpeng Zhao, and Samuel Lim. They have asked the court for permission to file Memoranda of Law in support of their Motions to Dismiss that exceed the standard fifteen page limit.
The CFTC had previously filed a 73-page, 236-paragraph lawsuit against the defendants on March 27, 2023, alleging violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and certain related federal regulations. Defendants’ response to the lawsuit is due July 27, 2023.
Given the complexity of the CFTC’s complaint and the number of arguments Defendants anticipate presenting in support of their Motions to Dismiss, they anticipate that their Law Memoranda will exceed the fifteen page limits. Therefore, they have requested an extension of the page limit up to 50 pages combined for the two Law Memoranda.
The defendants argue that this is 25 pages short of the combined 75 pages they would be entitled to under Local Rule 7.1 if they each filed a separate motion to dismiss the CFTC’s complaint.
Counsel for the defendants has consulted with counsel for the CFTC regarding this motion, and the CFTC does not object to the relief requested.
Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, have recently come under increased scrutiny from various US regulatory agencies.
On May 5, 2023, the Justice Department began investigating whether Binance was used to allow the Russians to illegally circumvent US sanctions, according to Bloomberg.
On June 5, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, with a variety of securities law violations.
On June 8, 2023, US Senators Chris Van Hollen and Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking the Department of Justice to investigate Binance for making false statements to Congress.
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