The chief executive officer of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, has opened a defamation lawsuit against Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese-language publisher, Modern Media. CZ alleged that Modern Media labeled false and unfounded criminal charges against him in a recent publication.
Binance CEO accused of running a Ponzi scheme
CZ reportedly filed the defamation lawsuit on Monday at the Hong Kong High Court, particularly on the 250th issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, which Modern Media titled “Zhao Changpeng’s Ponzi Scheme.”
Binance’s CEO said the statement was defamatory and caused him considerable distress and embarrassment. He added that such a statement harms his image in cryptocurrency and business settings.
For that, CZ and his legal representative, José-Antonio Maurellet, SC, of Des Voeux Chambers, have asked the court to order the removal of the alleged defamatory content, and prohibit Modern Media from publishing the defamatory content. CZ also seeks a formal apology and compensation from the defendant.
CZ-Forbes lawsuit
The development is probably the second time Binance’s CEO has sued a media organization over defamation. In 2020, Binance filed a lawsuit against two journalists at Forbes, Michael del Castillo, and Jason Brett, who accused the CEO of purportedly employing tactics to avoid US regulators.
Binance Holdings Limited, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, conceived of an elaborate corporate structure designed to intentionally deceive regulators and surreptitiously profit from crypto investors in the United States.
Forbes magazine.
Binance refuted the allegations and demanded that the publication be removed. Later in February 2021, Cryptopolitan reported that the exchange had quietly dropped the lawsuit, and there was no comment from Binance on why they decided to withdraw the lawsuit against Forbes.
At the time of writing, the Forbes article was still available on the website.
