SEC Asks Courts for Permission To Hunt Down Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao via ‘Alternative Means’

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is asking courts for permission to track down Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao in an “alternative” manner.

In a new court filing, the SEC asks the District of Columbia Court for permission to freeze the assets of the companies operating as Binance.US: BAM Trading and BAM Management, as well as be able to serve Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao via unspecified non-traditional methods.

In the document, the SEC says it wants to “exercise its equitable power” to “repatriate and freeze” the assets of BAM Management and BAM Trading and compel the firms to provide full accounting information and refrain from concealing or destroying any relevant documents.

Furthermore, the regulatory agency is also seeking the court’s permission to serve Binance and Zhao “via alternative means,” though it’s unclear what exactly is implied by such.

Earlier this month, the SEC sued Binance for allegedly violating securities laws. A day later, it also sued Coinbase for similar reasons as well as filed a motion to freeze the assets of BAM Trading and BAM Management.

“Plaintiff U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’) requests that this Court issue a temporary restraining order: freezing assets (both known and unknown) of Defendant BAM Management US Holdings Inc. (‘BAM Management’) and BAM Trading Services Inc. (‘BAM Trading’) (collectively, ‘BAM’).”

In the original complaint against Binance, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said the firm is being sued over “an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law.”

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