According to an insider who spoke to Fortune, three high-ranking officials have resigned from the exchange in the past week.
Fortune reported on Thursday that, during mounting challenges and as the company braces itself to face multiple legal battles, a minimum of three high-ranking officials have parted ways with the embattled cryptocurrency exchange Binance this week.
As reported by Fortune, a source familiar with the matter disclosed that Binance General Counsel Han Ng, Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillmann, and Senior Vice President for Compliance Steven Christie are among the prominent figures who have resigned. Additionally, Steve Milton, Binance’s Global Vice President of Marketing and Communications, departed in June, as evidenced by his LinkedIn profile. Notably, the recent departure of Senior Director of Investigations Matthew Price adds to the list of crucial personnel parting ways with the exchange.
At the time of reporting, a request for comment from a Binance spokesperson remained unanswered.
As per a trusted source cited by Fortune, the decision of Ng, Hillmann, and Christie to step down was influenced by Binance founder and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao’s approach toward the ongoing investigation led by the U.S. Department of Justice. The analysis supposedly revolves around Binance’s alleged attempts to deceive U.S. regulators and accusations of money laundering and sanctions violations.
However, in a tweet on Thursday, Hillmann clarified that his departure was amicable, expressing his continued respect and support for Zhao.
Binance is currently facing scrutiny from various regulatory bodies worldwide, and the departure of key personnel from the company’s legal and compliance divisions is expected to create additional challenges in its defense.
In June, Binance became embroiled in a legal dispute when the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against the exchange, alleging 13 violations of securities laws. Adding to its legal woes, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had initiated legal action against Binance a few months earlier. In addition to these lawsuits, Binance is under investigation by regulatory authorities in Europe and Australia, further compounding its regulatory challenges.
The investigations have significantly disrupted the exchange’s domestic and international operations. U.S. regulators suspect a strong interconnection between Binance’s stateside business and its global trading arm. Following the SEC lawsuit, Binance suffered a significant setback as it lost a crucial European banking partner. Concurrently, Binance.US announced discontinuing trading in U.S. dollars, further highlighting the impact of these developments on the company’s operations.
Since the release of Fortune’s article, there has been a slight decline of approximately 2% in the price of BNB, the native cryptocurrency token of Binance.
