Binance and Ex-CEO Zhao Slam $1.76B FTX Lawsuit: "Dismiss It!"

Binance and its former big boss, Changpeng Zhao, just dropped a bombshell motion to trash FTX's whopping $1.76 billion lawsuit. No way, they're saying, no way!

The crypto world's still reeling from the FTX meltdown, and now, in a fiery court filing out of Delaware dated May 16, Binance and crew are fighting back hard against FTX's bankruptcy lawyers. They're claiming the court's got no say and that FTX dug its own grave.

So, the FTX Recovery Trust is on a mission to claw back $1.76 billion they shelled out to Binance back in July 2021 to buy back some equity. Back then, Binance was all in on FTX, but then they bailed. Now, Binance is standing firm, saying those funds are untouchable under bankruptcy's "safe harbor" rule, all because it was a securities contract deal.

And get this, the Trust is also pointing fingers at Changpeng Zhao, saying his social media rants sparked a bank run on FTX. They're calling it a "campaign to destroy FTX." But Binance isn't having it, claiming Zhao's posts were just the cold, hard truth and any talk of bad intentions is just wild guessing.

"Of course, Plaintiffs’ only support for this theory is pure conjecture—much of it sourced from a convicted fraudster’s hindsight speculation," Binance shot back in their filing, totally slamming Zhao's supposed plot to wreck FTX.

Binance Cites Lack of Jurisdiction, Blames FTX for the Collapse

Binance's main beef? They say the court's got no business in this. They're pointing out that the three FTX companies in the mix are all chilling outside the U.S., in the Cayman Islands and Ireland. Plus, they weren't even part of the repurchase deals in question.

And they're not holding back on FTX's founder, Sam Bankman-Fried either. Binance's filing lays it all out, saying the lawsuit itself spills the beans on "pervasive malfeasance," "ongoing fraud," and straight-up lies by FTX's top dogs. It's all on them, Binance says.