Cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance has filed a lawsuit against the US-based Forbes Media and two of its cryptocurrency journalists over an article published last month titled “Leaked ‘Tai Chi’ Document Reveals Binance’s Elaborate Scheme To Evade Bitcoin Regulators.” Binance has alleged that the title was defamatory and they have had to suffer a loss of “millions of dollars” because of it. The exchange has demanded both compensatory and punitive damages in the lawsuit.
Binance filed the lawsuit in the US District Court in New Jersey saying that the aforementioned article contained “numerous false, misleading and defamatory statements about Binance.” The story in question was penned by Forbes journalist Michael del Castillo with additional reporting from Jason Brett, and went up on the Forbes website on October 29. The article supposedly reveals how a leaked document from back in 2018 dubbed ‘Tai Chi’ contained the details of a scheme designed for Binance to “intentionally deceive regulators” within the United States.
“The leaked Tai Chi document, a slideshow believed to have been seen by senior Binance executives, is a strategic plan to execute a bait and switch. The source says the document was created by former Binance employee, Harry Zhou, a serial entrepreneur, who is the co-founder of Koi Trading, a San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange partially owned by Binance.”
Forbes article
No truth to the rumors: Binance
In the filing, Binance stated there’s no truth to all the rumors the Forbes story had spread, and the exchange neither created nor incorporated the scheme described in the Tai Chi document; in fact, they have always complied with the regulatory requirements. The company also declared that Harry Zhou, reportedly the author of the Tai Chi document, has never been an employee at Binance.
“Neither Binance nor anyone on its behalf created the purported 2018 slideshow presentation referenced in the Story. The person who Forbes claims created it, Harry Zhou, is not and never was an employee of Binance. Binance has not implemented any of the suggestions in the proposal, which was created by a third party. The Story falsely states that Binance both created and implemented the plan.”
Binance official statement
Binance has asked Forbes to take down the article in the complaint filed, and along with demanding compensatory and punitive damages in return, the exchange has also sent the defendants a letter asking for an apology for putting up the deceptive story. However, Forbes has yet to remove the article, and it continues to remain online.
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