Binance wins major legal victory as US Court dismisses anti-terrorist lawsuit

“The court rejected a false and damaging allegation that Binance aided terrorists,” explained the exchange’s general counsel.

In a press release issued on March 7, Binance announced that the US Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed all claims against it under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

Eleanor Hughes, the company’s general counsel and spokeswoman, said the firing was a “complete confirmation of all false allegations.”

The case involved 535 plaintiffs alleging that the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange provided material support for 64 terrorist attacks, citing provisions of the ATA.

However, a 62-page decision issued by the Court and Judge Jeannette Vargas officially dismissed the civil suit against the exchange and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao after finding that the plaintiffs had failed to establish any of their central allegations.

“The court rejected a false and damaging claim that Binance aided terrorists. We have always maintained that these allegations were unfounded, and today’s ruling confirms that. We will continue to defend ourselves against any controversy or reports that misrepresent who we are and how we operate,” Hughes said.

Plaintiffs have 60 days to file an amended complaint in light of the recent appellate decision. However, the exchange said it is confident that no amended pleadings will “relieve the fundamental deficiencies identified by the Court as having been ‘thoroughly reviewed and dismissed’ in the underlying claims.”

On a separate but somewhat unrelated note, 11 Democratic US senators led by Richard Blumenthal called on the US Department of Justice and the US Treasury to investigate Binance for allegedly facilitating $1.7 billion in transactions to entities linked to Iran.

The exchange “vehemently denied” the allegations, pointing out that it has more than 1,500 professionals worldwide to bolster its robust compliance program.