Kevin O’Leary doesn’t rule out criminal charges for Binance
Kevin O’Leary said the Securities and Exchange Commission levied some “serious” allegations in the 136-page charging document the agency issued against Binance on June 5, telling Cointelegraph in an interview that he believes founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao is in a “tough” spot.
O’Leary, a venture capitalist and CNBC personality known more colorfully as “Mr. Wonderful,” was an investor in crypto exchange FTX prior to its November collapse, and has been open about losing $15 million from his gig as a paid spokesman for the company.
Some observers attribute FTX’s failure to a string of events that followed an exchange on Twitter between its 31-year-old founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao — who briefly suggested, amid FTX’s collapse, that he was open to bailing the company out. But he quickly ruled out the possibility of making an offer, to Bankman-Fried’s chagrin — and, perhaps, to O’Leary’s bank account.
You won, @cz_binance.There's no need to lie, now, about the buyout.We initiated conversations around buying you out, and we decided to do it because it was important for our business.And while I was frustrated with your 'negotiation' tactics, I chose to still do it.
O’Leary nonetheless said he felt sympathy toward the 46-year-old CZ, whom the SEC has targeted with allegations that he mishandled customer funds by transferring them between entities he controlled — including north of $20 billion between Binance and a company called Merit Peak.
“They’re going after CZ personally,” O’Leary said. “That’s tough. I mean, you have to have a little compassion for him.”
Cointelegraph: What should investors make of this lawsuit? Is it going to cripple the market? Do regulators have a case?
Kevin O’Leary:
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