The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested a court to grant a temporary restraining order to freeze assets tied to Binance.US. In a court filing made in the D.C. District Court, the SEC asked for approval to freeze assets tied to BAM Management US Holdings and BAM Trading Services, the holding and operating firms for Binance.US. The SEC had previously sued Binance.US, Binance Global, and Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao, alleging a host of compliance and control failures.
The SEC respectfully submits that this relief is necessary on an expedited basis to ensure the safety of customer assets and prevent the dissipation of available assets for any judgment, the SEC filing said. The SEC also requested an order to show cause why a preliminary injunction should not be granted, an order directing defendants to repatriate assets held for the benefit of BAM customers, and an order prohibiting the destruction of records by the defendants.
If the order is granted, Binance would have five days to ensure that only Binance.US has access to customer funds, and within 30 days, all customer assets would be transferred to new wallets that only Binance.US can access. Binance.US responded to the initial suit, saying that user funds on Binance.US were never at risk. All user assets on Binance and Binance affiliate platforms, including Binance.US, are safe and secure, and we will vigorously defend against any allegations to the contrary, the statement said.