Binance Moves to Court against Forbes Reporters, Files Defamation Suit

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance recently filed a defamation case against reporters from Forbes. The company is seeking punitive and compensatory damages from the publication after it didn’t retract an allegedly defamatory story against the firm. It also seeks the removal of the article.

What was the Forbes story?

In October, Forbes published a story on Binance, revealing how the firm is evading regulations. The article was written by Michael Del Castillo, a Forbes staff writer. Jason Brett was credited with additional reports.

Binance filed a suit against Forbes and two of its writers in the US District Court in the District of New Jersey against the article titled, “Leaked ‘Tai Chi’ Document Reveals Binance’s Elaborate Scheme to Evade Bitcoin Regulators.” The exchange claims that the article “contains numerous false, misleading, and defamatory statements about Binance.”

According to the exchange, the article relies on a document that is supposedly created by a senior executive at the firm and is believed to have been seen by other senior executives, including CEO Changpeng Zhao.

Claims related to Binance.us

The Tai Chi document was a PowerPoint presentation as reported by Forbes. It was an outline for setting up an American subsidiary called Binance.US that could distract regulators. The subsidiary would then be used to move revenue to Binance, the parent company, in the form of licensing fees. Binance says that the false public statements made by the defendants, their innuendo of Binance evading regulations and its activity being compared to money laundering have damaged the firm’s reputation.

The firm said that as Forbes did not retract from its statements or apologize, it will carry forward with the lawsuit. It is now asking for the article to be removed, alongside compensatory and punitive damages. A company spokesperson said that they are not against freedom of information or freedom of the press but their lawsuit ensures truth and justice. Forbes continues to stand by its story.