Binance transferred $400 million from a US partner to a company run by CZ

Binance secretly accessed a bank account of its US-based partner and transferred more than $400 million from that account to a trading firm run by chief executive Changpeng Zhao, Reuters reported.

The transfers occurred during the first three months of 2021, with money moving from Binance.US’s account at Silvergate Bank to trading firm Merit Peak Ltd, Reuters said, citing bank records and messages from the company. The transfers began in late 2020, the report said.

Reuters said it could not determine whether the funds transferred belonged to US clients, or the reasons or motives for moving the funds. Executives at the US firm were apparently concerned about the moves because they did not know they were taking place, Reuters said.

In a statement to Reuters, Binance.US spokeswoman Kimberly Soward said the media outlet was reporting “outdated information” but did not respond to questions about the transfers. Parent company Binance did not respond to Reuters, nor did Zhao or Prime Trust, a custody company that was also listed as a depository for US exchange customer funds. Silvergate told Reuters it does not comment on individual customers.