Binance Co-Founder CZ Moves to Dismiss $1.8B FTX Lawsuit (Report)

Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has filed a movement to dismiss a $1.76 billion lawsuit introduced in opposition to him by the FTX chapter belief.

He says the courtroom has no authorized authority over him as a result of he lives within the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

CZ’s Defence

In accordance with a Bloomberg report, his authorized staff submitted the movement on Monday to the U.S. Chapter Court docket for the District of Delaware, asserting that the accusations fall exterior the courtroom’s attain.

“The claims are up to now faraway from Delaware and even the USA that the statutes at situation, which lack extraterritorial utility, don’t even apply,” his legal professionals wrote within the submitting.

Lodged in November 2024, the lawsuit accuses Zhao, Binance, and several other former executives of receiving billions of {dollars} in funds that have been wrongfully moved by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). It focuses on a July 2021 deal the place the alternate sold again its fairness in FTX’s worldwide and US-based entities. In accordance with the belief, Binance held a 20% stake in FTX’s worldwide unit and 18.4% within the U.S. arm.

Court docket information present that Alameda Ltd, an organization registered within the British Virgin Islands, transferred the funds for FTX. Alternatively, the Binance entities concerned have been registered in Eire, the Cayman Islands, and the British Virgin Islands. CZ’s authorized staff argues this makes the transaction overseas and outdoors the attain of U.S. chapter legal guidelines. Additionally they declare he was a “nominal counterparty” within the deal, which means he was not deeply concerned within the course of.

Zhao’s submission additionally described the connection between FTX and Binance as solely momentary. They ended their partnership because of private disagreements, after which Binance’s fairness in Bankman-Fried’s enterprise was exchanged for cryptocurrency.

The crypto entrepreneur claims the lawsuit unfairly blames him and Binance for the collapse of FTX, which he described happened on account of SBF’s misconduct. He additionally argued that serving authorized papers by way of U.S.-based legal professionals isn’t legitimate underneath chapter legislation when the defendant lives overseas. His staff says the belief is attempting to stretch its claims past U.S. borders in methods that aren’t supported by the legislation. They are saying the fraud claims don’t meet the requirements required for cover underneath federal guidelines tied to securities contracts.

Former Binance Executives Additionally Looking for Dismissal

This improvement follows comparable motions filed final month by former Binance executives Samuel Wenjun Lim and Dinghua Xiao, who’re additionally named within the FTX go well with and are in search of to be faraway from the case.

CZ accomplished a four-month jail sentence in September final yr after pleading responsible to U.S. anti-money-laundering violations. In the meantime, Sam Bankman-Fried is serving 25 years for fraud and conspiracy.

Elsewhere, the defunct alternate announced it’s going to begin distributing the subsequent batch of creditor claims on September 30. As of August 2025, it has returned roughly $6.2 billion to former clients throughout two main rounds.