Binance and Changpeng Zhao Seek Permission to File Excess Pages in Response to CFTC Complaint

In the ongoing legal battle between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Binance, the defendants have filed a motion requesting 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.

The defendants in the case include Binance Holdings Ltd., Binance Holdings (IE) Ltd., Binance (Services) Holdings, Ltd. (collectively referred to as the “Foreign Binance Entities”), Changpeng Zhao, and Samuel Lim. They have asked the court for leave 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 complaint against the defendants on March 27, 2023, alleging violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and certain related federal regulations. The defendants’ response to the complaint is due on July 27, 2023.

Given the complexity of the CFTC’s complaint and the number of arguments the defendants anticipate making in support of their Motions to Dismiss, they anticipate that their Memoranda of Law will exceed the fifteen-page limits. Therefore, they have requested an expansion of the page limit up to 50 pages collectively for the two Memoranda of Law.

The defendants argue that this is 25 pages less than the combined total of 75 pages that they would be entitled to under Local Rule 7.1 if they each separately moved to dismiss the CFTC’s complaint.

The defendants’ counsel has conferred with counsel for the CFTC regarding this motion, and the CFTC does not oppose the requested relief.

Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, have recently come under increased scrutiny from various U.S. regulatory agencies.

On May 5, 2023, the Justice Department began investigating whether Binance was used to let Russians illegally skirt 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, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking the Department of Justice to investigate Binance for potentially making false statements to Congress.

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