- The court ruled that the OFR failed to provide sufficient evidence to support its conclusion.
- Binance US had its money-services company license revoked in an emergency suspension order.
An appeal was successful by crypto exchange Binance’s subsidiary Binance US, against the Emergency Suspension Order (ESO) issued by the state regulator of Florida, according to a decision handed down by the Florida First District Court of Appeal on Wednesday.
Changpeng Zhao and Binance Holdings’ plea agreements for failing to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy Act were insufficient to prohibit Binance US from operating in the state, according to the First District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida’s ruling on May 22.
Erroneous Interpretation of Sections
The court ruled that the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) failed to provide sufficient evidence to support its conclusion that Binance US, the company’s Florida affiliate, should have had its license temporarily revoked due to the allegations that Zhao’s actions posed an imminent threat to public safety and welfare, calling for an emergency suspension.
Binance US had its money-services company license revoked and ordered to stop all money transmission activities by the OFR in an emergency suspension order (ESO) dated November 29, 2023.
As per the court analysis of the order:
“The ESO contains a material error in procedure and an erroneous interpretation of sections 560.114(2) and 120.60(6), Florida Statutes.”
In addition to threatening substantial financial damages, the ESO has not addressed potential alternatives to suspending the license. Trading volumes plummeted at Binance US, a subsidiary of Binance, due to a variety of issues, including the suspension of its money transmitter license and increased attention from authorities.
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