Binance, its billionaire CEO Zhao, and the operator of its U.S. affiliate exchange, for allegedly operating a "web of deception.", another trading firm controlled by Zhao, to commingle corporate funds with client assets and use the monies "as they please." This put customers' assets at risk while Binance sought to "maximize" its profits, the SEC wrote in its civil complaint on Monday.
The $11 billion sent from Key Vision to Merit Peak form part of the $22 billion in assets -- mostly belonging to Binance and its U.S. affiliate -- that Merit Peak received between 2019 and 2021, the SEC filing on Tuesday showed. The SEC said in its lawsuit that Merit Peak, which described itself as trading with the "self-made wealth" of Zhao, operated on both the Binance.com and Binance.US platforms.
Some Zhao-owned accounts have sent monies "offshore" over the last few months, the SEC wrote in the filing.