Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, on Wednesday, issued a stark warning to his employees after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) leaked damning chat logs during an ongoing lawsuit.
What Happened: Zhao instructed staff to be mindful of their internal communications, stating that “everything you say could end up in court (or on the internet) one day", Decrypt reported citing local news media.
The SEC’s latest disclosure reportedly features screen-grabs of conversations between employees, including former compliance lead Sam Lim and Head of Business Development Alvin. In the chats, both employees allegedly discussed “dumping” their BNB tokens before they took a hit.
What’s more, the duo seemed to admit to “operating an unlicensed securities exchange” – allegations that echo the SEC’s accusations against Binance.
The logs also show Lim explaining how an entity could secretly use Binance.com’s international exchange despite being registered as one of Binance US’ clients, thanks to a “special arrangement’ approved by the Binance CEO himself.
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Why It Matters: Zhao dismissed them as a “complaint” made by two individuals. However, he acknowledged that their release had caused “a lot of damage” to Binance’s reputation.
He warned that Binance’s chat history would likely be scrutinized during the SEC’s investigation and instructed employees to be mindful of their communications or risk landing in court. “If you don’t like it, leave,” he added.
In his memo, Zhao also suggested that “not satisfied” employees should seriously consider moving on from Binance.
Binance has not commented on the issue, but Zhao emphasized that he does not look at employee conversations, and that the chat logs were his first time seeing the leaked messages.
The Binance CEO criticized the SEC’s utilization of the chat logs as a “poster,” deeming it a “ridiculous” approach.
Price Action: Ater SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance, BTC was trading at $26,470.75, up 0.45%, in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
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