Leaked internal conversations between “Sam Lim” (former compliance leader of Binance) and “Alvin” (formerly head of business development) are being circulated as the exchange struggles with a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao warned his employees. Zhao said that if employees are not satisfied with the company, they should consider other career options.
Warning to employees from Binance CEO
Changpeng Zhao (CZ) wrote a letter to employees, according to Chinese news outlet Odaily. In his letter, CZ cited a tweet by Yearn Finance contributor Adam Cochran. Zhao stated that it was absurd for the SEC to use internal chats as evidence. But his staff also warned that “Anything you say may one day go to court (or the Internet)”. Finally, he urged employees not to waste their energy if they don’t like the job at Binance. In this context, Zhao wrote:
More importantly, if you’re not comfortable working at Binance (or any company), you should talk to your manager and seriously consider your career options.
In Binance’s internal chats, Lin and Alvin were mocking the company’s compliance. A screenshot shared by Adam Cochran shows former compliance leader Lim saying that Binance “has nothing to prove” that it is clean.
7/15
Sam Lin, the then head of compliance goes on to say "there is no fking way we are clean" "I have seen NOTHING to prove we are"
That is Binance's head of compliance, the highest ranked compliance person at the company at the time saying they aren't 'clean' pic.twitter.com/H6aVmDhD2H
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) June 7, 2023
Zhao says that employees’ internal chatter is very damaging to the company. cryptocoin.comAs you follow on Monday, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance on charges of operating an unregistered exchange, misrepresenting traditional controls, and diverting customers’ assets.
Due to the SEC lawsuit and regulatory troubles from the US, Binance.US has made an important decision for the USD. Accordingly, it has decided to cease all USD deposits and withdrawals from June 13.
CZ, k reputation of cryptocurrency exchangeworried about!
Regarding Binance’s internal chats, Zhao used harsh statements. In this context, CZ said, “This is just two guys ranting ‘in private’ 5 years ago. However, this is extremely damaging to our reputation.” The comment in question reads, “We operate as an unlicensed stock exchange in the US, bro!” It came from an alleged employee.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said the agency had internal memos that allegedly showed Binance executives knowingly violated the law. He quoted some of them in a speech on Thursday. Zhao said the SEC’s use of some comments was “outrageous”. “But we’re going to let the lawyers handle this,” CZ wrote in a note.
