Bloomberg reports that Binance Holdings Ltd. recently hired former US Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutor M. Kendall Day as their attorney to represent them in the ongoing lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). . Court documents filed Thursday revealed Binance’s decision to bring Day on board as part of its legal team. According to Day’s profile on the Gibson Dunn & Crutcher law firm’s website, he served as Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division for an impressive 15 years. In addition, he held the position of Chief of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), a division under the jurisdiction of the DOJ. In this capacity, Day held nationwide regulatory authority over Justice Department money laundering investigations, including deferred prosecution agreements and non-prosecution agreements involving financial institutions.

It is worth noting that as early as last year, a Reuters article on the DOJ’s four-year investigation into Binance mentioned hiring Kendall Day to facilitate communication with the DOJ, and Day even met with DOJ officials in Washington.

In recent weeks, both Binance and Binance.US have been strengthening their legal teams in anticipation of the SEC lawsuit. On June 13, George Canellos, a partner in Milbank’s New York office, was announced as his legal counsel. Canellos, who previously served as co-head of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, currently oversees global litigation and arbitration at Milbank.

On June 5, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission took decisive action by indicting Binance Holdings Ltd., Binance.com (the world’s largest crypto asset trading platform), BAM Trading Services Inc. (Binance’s affiliate in USA) and chang peng zhao (Founder of Binance) with various violations of securities law.

Additionally, on June 17, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained emergency relief in its ongoing litigation. All of the defendants, including Binance Holdings Limited, BAM Management US Holdings Inc., BAM Trading Services Inc., and Changpeng Zhao, have agreed to repatriate the assets held for the benefit of Binance.US clients to the United States. To safeguard clients’ interests and protect their assets, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order prohibiting BAM Trading Services Inc. and BAM Management US Holdings, Inc. from using corporate assets, except for regular business operations. This order ensures that Binance.US clients retain the ability to withdraw their assets from the platform and ensures the protection and location of assets that remain on the platform pending resolution of pending SEC litigation against Binance Holdings Ltd., BAM and its founder, Zhao.