Cryptocurrency lawyer wants to fire Changpeng Zhao in civil suit

Adam Moskowitz, who has been lead counsel in several civil lawsuits involving cryptocurrency companies, has filed a motion to obtain testimony from former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.

In papers filed Dec. 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Miami, Fla., Moskowitz said Zhao’s testimony would be “critical to the claims and defenses of all parties” involved. The law firm filed the motion as part of a $1 billion lawsuit against Zhao, Binance and cryptocurrency influencers, which the court stayed in August.

Moskowitz and his firm have represented several clients in lawsuits against prominent cryptocurrency companies and related entities. He was an attorney for many victims of the FTX collapse, in lawsuits targeting celebrities who promoted the cryptocurrency exchange and in lawsuits alleging investors suffered losses from soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo promoting Binance’s non-fungible tokens.

“Normally, since CZ is the named defendant, we send notice of his testimony,” Moskowitz told Cointelegraph. “In our case, we all agreed to wait for discovery until a judge rules on Binance’s demand to file a class action before the AAA Arbitration Association. “Regardless of where we go, CZ’s testimony will be invaluable to all parties.”

The cryptocurrency lawyer said the lawsuit was filed in response to a Washington judge ordering Zhao to remain in the United States until his sentencing in February 2024. Last November, U.S. authorities announced a $4.3 billion settlement with Binance, in which CZ stepped down as CEO and pleaded guilty. One felony charge.

“(W)e have no idea what CZ will be sentenced to in prison, which may or may not be 60 years. We certainly have not been involved in discussions between CZ and the government,” Moskowitz said. “If he is not jailed, he will definitely run away to the UAE. “Once he’s in prison, it’s not easy for him to prepare and demand testimony from prison.”

I can still post, but boredom has taken away the humor.

Watching TV sucks.

— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) December 4, 2023

Related: Binance said its decision to withdraw its bid for the Abu Dhabi license had nothing to do with the U.S. agreement.

According to Moskowitz, Zhao’s guilty plea to federal charges alleging a lack of safeguards while he was Binance CEO could support some of the plaintiffs’ claims in the civil suit. The case alleges that Binance promoted unregistered securities, even though the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which oversees securities, was not a party to the settlement with Zhao, Binance and the government.

He added:

“The SEC has certainly not slowed down in its own lawsuit against CZ and Binance and still claims that BNB tokens are unregistered securities, so their alleged value of $4 billion could actually go to zero in under a minute.”

It is unclear whether the judge will grant Moskowitz’s motion, given that Zhao is no longer CEO of Binance and has stepped down from leadership. Cointelegraph reached out to Binance but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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