Cristiano Ronaldo played a special role in the offer and sale of unregistered securities with Binance, complaint alleges
Renowned Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo is currently confronting a legal challenge regarding his endorsement of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The claimants are seeking damages exceeding $1 billion (£790 million). The lawsuit asserts that Ronaldo played a part in the promotion and sale of unregistered securities in collaboration with Binance.
In 2022, Ronaldo entered into a partnership with Binance to promote his non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which became linked to the exchange. Allegedly, individuals who enrolled in Ronaldo’s NFTs are more inclined to utilize the platform for various purposes, potentially including investments in unregistered securities.
The legal action contends that Ronaldo, given his financial expertise and resources, should have been aware of Binance’s involvement in selling unregistered cryptocurrency securities.
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has admitted guilt to charges related to the failure of the global cryptocurrency exchange to uphold an effective anti-money laundering program.
Binance faced allegations of violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, along with neglecting to report suspicious transactions involving organizations designated as terrorist groups by the US, such as Hamas, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
As part of a plea agreement, Binance agreed to a payment exceeding $4.3 billion, while Zhao consented to a $150 million penalty to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Zhao potentially faces up to 18 months in prison, and a US federal judge has mandated that he remains within the United States until his sentencing hearing in February.
