Binance Seeks Protective Order Against SEC’s ‘Fishing Expedition’

Updated: 15 August 2023

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Binance asked a court for a protective order against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which it accused of conducting a “fishing expedition’’ against it.

Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, claimed in an Aug. 14 filing that the SEC is abusing a June court order that allowed for ‘limited expedited discovery’ after the regulator sued it for operating a “web of deception.’’

Charges brought against the crypto exchange by the SEC included that it inflated trading volumes, diverted customer funds, and misled investors.

“The SEC’s position is unreasonable and part of a broader pattern of the SEC abusing the discovery provision of the Consent Order,’’ Binance’s filing said. “Instead of seeking ‘limited’ discovery, the SEC has spent the past 45 days serving incredibly overbroad and unreasonable discovery requests that seek, on their face, every single document in” the company’s possession related to customer assets.

Binance Seeks Protective Order to Limit Scope of SEC Discovery

Binance, the crypto giant so grand,
Moves to challenge the SEC's strong hand.
In court, they argue against the scope.
As the SEC seeks to tighten the rope. pic.twitter.com/TKow1Qgdvl

— Carlo⚖️.eth (@DeFiDefenseLaw) August 15, 2023

Binance Says SEC Refused to Limit Requests

Binance said the SEC had refused to limit its requests and asked the court to limit it to four depositions of executives best placed to provide the relevant information.

It added that the SEC believed the order gave it carte blanche to investigate every aspect of the exchange’s custody practices ”without any discernible limitation whatsoever.’’

Binance said it had worked in good faith and had produced an immense amount of information about customer assets to the SEC. It further argued that the SEC still has not identified any evidence that customer assets had been misused or mishandled.

It said the SEC demanded it produce all communications concerning dozens of topics, many of which have nothing to do with customer assets, from at least six employees dating back to November.

“At bottom, the SEC is conducting a fishing expedition instead of seeking the narrow and “limited” discovery authorized by the Consent Order to ensure customer assets are presently secure and available,’’ it said.