Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao sues Bloomberg’s Hong Kong subsidiary claiming defamation over its Chinese article stating “Zhao Changpeng Ponzi Scheme.”
Modern Media Company Limited, based in Hong Kong, is an independent entity that licenses Bloomberg’s content.
Hong Kong’s version ran the 23rd June version of the Bloomberg article “Can Crypto’s Richest Man Stand the Cold?”.
However, the article published in Hong Kong was “Zhao Changpeng’s Ponzi Scheme.”
Zhao called for a retraction and restraining order to further stop the publisher from spreading false news.
A motion for discovery has also been filed in the US for defamation which stated,
“Surprisingly, the Original Article contained several serious and defamatory allegations made against Zhao and Binance that were completely unsubstantiated and were obviously designed to mislead readers into believing that Zhao and Binance have been engaging in illegal or unsavory activities.”
Bloomberg partially satisfied some of Zhao’s concerns before the lawsuit was filed by changing the title of the article to “The Mysterious Changpeng Zhao.”
Also, the defamatory social media posts were eventually deleted, and the physical copies of translated articles were recalled.
Per the Cointelegraph report, the lawsuit is personal and has nothing to do with the exchange or company, as confirmed by Binance.
It is not the first time Binance has sued a company. In the year 2020, Binance sued Forbes over defamatory statements. However, it dropped the charges last year.
Zhao also sued Venture capital Sequoia for defamation in 2019.
