Picture this: Four individuals have taken on the mighty U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in a legal showdown, demanding that more of the $4.3 billion settlement from Binance be funneled into the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (USVSST). Sounds like a blockbuster plot, right?
The quartet argues that the DOJ’s current game plan is a major no-no under the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act, a 2015 law that says a hefty chunk of criminal and civil settlement proceeds should go straight to the victims’ fund. The DOJ, according to our brave complainants, has only dropped about $900 million into the fund, while allegedly aiming to stash at least $1.5 billion into a separate crime victims' reserve. Cue the drama!
Feeling shortchanged, these four heroes have turned to the courts to make sure all the dollars end up where they’re supposed to. And they’ve got a point—over the last nine years, the USVSST fund has handed out more than $6 billion to those affected by state-sponsored terror attacks or their families.
The lawsuit is packed with big names, taking aim not just at the DOJ and Special Master but also at high-profile figures like U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and agencies like the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Even the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) are caught up in this legal web.
This all traces back to a November 2023 settlement with Binance, where the crypto giant admitted to some serious charges like breaching U.S. sanctions and skimping on anti-money laundering measures. Former CEO Changpeng Zhao (or CZ, as he's famously known) took the fall, admitting to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, stepping down, and coughing up a $50 million fine. He even did a stint in prison, mostly served at the Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc, California, with an expected release just around the corner.
The DOJ's investigation revealed that Binance had allowed Russian nationals to use its platform, defying U.S. sanctions imposed due to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. Talk about a plot twist!
So, will our complainants succeed in their quest to redirect these funds? Stay tuned as this legal drama unfolds!
