Status Report Reveals Details of Ongoing SEC Vs Binance Lawsuit

• A joint report has outlined the status of the case between the SEC and Binance Holdings Ltd.
• The SEC claimed BAM is yet to produce some of the documents it considers crucial to the case.
• The joint status report shows that BAM does not believe there are gaps in its production.

A joint status report has been filed in the lawsuit between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Binance Holdings Ltd. The report, filed on January 25, 2024, outlines the status of the case, focusing on discovery-related matters involving BAM Management U.S. Holdings Inc., BAM Trading Services Inc., and Binance, the defendants collectively being termed as “BAM”.

In the initial part of the report termed BAM-Related Discovery, the SEC claimed BAM is yet to produce some of the documents it considers crucial to the case. According to the regulator, BAM has not produced any more documents since December 15, 2023, when it submitted its last status report.

The joint status report noted that following BAM’s last status report, the SEC sent a letter on December 22, 2023, identifying several gaps in BAM’s production. BAM responded to that letter on the evening of January 23, 2024. However, the SEC insisted there is an outstanding discovery necessary to resolve the issue relating to the Consent Order.

Contrary to the SEC’s position, the joint status report shows that BAM does not believe there are gaps in its production. BAM’s position is that it intends to make one final production of documents in response to the SEC’s expedited discovery requests next week.

The concluding part of the report, termed Binance/Zhao-Related Discovery, stated that neither Binance nor Zhao have produced any documents since the last status report. The joint status report noted that the SEC had contacted Binance regarding the discovery requests. Binance replied and agreed to provide a substantive response under a separate cover.

However, the joint status report noted that the parties will continue to meet and confer concerning the scope of Binance’s and Zhao’s document productions. They are expected to meet before the next status report to the Court.