Former US SEC official: I believe the Department of Justice will soon publish or file an indictment related to Binance

Odaily Planet Daily News Former US SEC Internet enforcement officer John Reed Stark said that Binance.US parent company Binance requested a protective order on August 14 to prevent the SEC from making excessive demands and its reasons may not be reliable. Stark added that the SEC had previously obtained a consent order or temporary restraining order against Binance.US. That means courts have to resolve disputes faster than usual, despite the routine process. Stark also predicted Judge Amy Berman Jackson would refer the matter to magistrates, which happened later in the day. Judge Jackson said in a court filing that he referred Binance.US’ motion to Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui. Stark noted that he believes the DOJ will soon publish or file an indictment related to Binance, further complicating the SEC case. Reports dating back to at least Aug. 2 suggest the Justice Department is on the verge of bringing those charges. (Cryptoslate) As previously reported, Binance has asked the court to issue a protective order against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), citing Binance’s alleged “fishing expedition” by regulators. According to court documents filed on Aug. 14, Binance filed a motion for a protective order after receiving a notice of deposition and a discovery request from the SEC. Binance stated that BAM carried out its work in good faith, but the US SEC has always believed that the consent order gives it full power to investigate all aspects of BAM's asset custody behavior without any obvious restrictions. Binance claims that the US SEC requested it to provide the content of communications dating back to November 2022 on dozens of topics, many of which have nothing to do with customer assets. It also disputed the SEC's request that six of its employees and officers, including CEO CZ, testify.