Bitfinex: New York Prosecutor General’s Office misled the court

Bitfinex Bitcoin Exchange believes that on July 7, the New York State Attorney General’s Office (NYAG) misled the State Supreme Court, exaggerating the site’s connections with New York residents. This is stated in a statement by lawyer Stuart Hogner.

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For example, NYAG claims that Bitfinex credited a New York trading company with USDT tokens, and another legal entity registered in the state acted as an intermediary. The agency also allegedly indicated an account on Bitfinex, which is owned by this company.

But Bitfinex denied the allegations and said that the trading company acted only as an intermediary between the exchange and the borrower, which is a foreign company that meets all the necessary criteria for legal cooperation.

“Shareholders of some of our clients are in New York, as are some employees, but the prosecutor’s office cannot claim that they are users of the respondent. This is not true. In each case, the client is a foreign company, ” Hogner said in a statement.

The lawyer also pointed out that Tether served Bitfinex in 2017 and followed the exchange’s user policy, which, since January 30 of the year mentioned, prescribed a ban on working with residents of New York.

Earlier, NYAG suggested that UNUS SED LEO tokens may be unregistered securities subject to Martin’s law. The ministry also found Bitfinex accounts in the New York banks Signature Bank and Noble Bank.

Nevertheless, the exchange claims that New York companies acted only as intermediaries between it and foreign customers.

In April, the Prosecutor General’s Office of New York accused Bitfinex of having suffered a loss of $ 850 million, it concealed this fact, using the funds of its affiliate Tether, affiliated with it, to cover the damage.

So, Tether Limited really opened a credit line for Bitfinex, however, lawyers of the companies are convinced that they did not violate any laws and did not put users at risk.

However, the court order, which the prosecutor's office has made, actually froze the reserves of Tether and blocked Bitfinex financial assistance.

Then representatives of the parent company iFinex Inc. questioned NYAG's jurisdiction, and New York State Supreme Court judge Joel Cohen granted their request, allowing only those documents that the Office has the right to demand within its jurisdiction to submit.

It should be added that Bitfinex has released its UNUS SED LEO token and raised $ 1 billion from accredited investors, which will allow it to pay with Tether Limited. The tokens themselves provide their holders with a number of privileges, however, they will gradually be redeemed from the market by the platform itself.

Read more about this loud court case in the special article.

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