Financial watchdog alleges Binance lied to regulators and syphoned investors’ funds into separate company

Binance and Zhao allegedly undermined the company's own compliance, courted U.S. investors and traded against its customers using market-making companies.

The SEC is suing Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao. The WSJ reported the lawsuit accuses the world's biggest crypto exchange of operating an illegal exchange. Zhao tweeted Monday morning that the company had yet to see the complaint.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued crypto exchange Binance, the operating company for Binance.US and Binance founder and CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao on allegations of violating federal securities laws on Monday.

The SEC’s complaint also alleged that Binance and Zhao secretly control customers’ assets, allowing them to commingle and divert customer funds.

Crypto exchange Binance and its chief executive officer Changpeng Zhao are being sued by US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Securities and Exchange Commission complaint, filed in a federal court in Washington, D.C., lists 13 charges against Binance, CEO Changpeng Zhao, and the operator of its purportedly independent US