Crypto lawyer wants to depose Changpeng Zhao for civil lawsuit

Adam Moskowitz, the lead attorney in several civil cases involving crypto companies, has filed a motion to take a deposition from former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.

In a Dec. 8 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division, Moskowitz said Zhao's testimony “will be critical to all parties' claims and defenses.” The law firm made the request as part of a $1 billion lawsuit against Zhao, Binance and crypto influencers that the court ordered stayed in August.

Moskowitz and his firm have represented numerous clients in connection with high-profile crypto firms and related entities. He was counsel to several victims of the FTX debacle, including lawsuits targeting celebrities who promoted the crypto exchange, as well as allegations that investors suffered losses due to soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo citing Binance's nonfungible tokens.

“Typically, because CZ is a named defendant, we send out a notice of arrest,” Moskowitz told Cointelegraph. “In our case, we all agreed to wait until the judge rules on Binance's request to litigate our class action before the AAA Arbitration Association. Whatever it is [of] CZ's testimony will be critical to all parties as we move toward the end.

The crypto lawyer's filing comes in response to a Washington judge ordering Zhao to remain in the United States until his sentencing in February 2024. In November, US officials announced a $4.3 billion settlement with Binance in which CZ pleaded guilty to resigning as CEO. A criminal case.

“[W]Moskowitz said. “If he doesn't get jail time, he will definitely flee to the United Arab Emirates. When it comes to jail time, arranging and asking for bail from jail is not easy.

I can still post, but I've lost my humor (if I have any) from boredom…

Watching TV is painful.

— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) December 4, 2023

Related: Binance says decision to pull Abu Dhabi licensing bid unrelated to US settlement

According to Moskowitz, Zhao's guilty plea to federal charges of alleged lack of protection during his time as Binance's CEO could support some of the plaintiffs' civil lawsuits. The case alleges that Binance promoted unregistered securities, even though the US Securities and Exchange Commission – the body that regulates securities – was not part of the settlement with Zhao, Binance and the government.

He added:

“The SEC has certainly not delayed their litigation. CZ and Binance and still the BNB token is an unregistered security, so there are $4 billion in suspected values, which can actually be zero in a minute.”

It is unclear whether a judge would grant Moskowitz's request because Zhao is not Binance's CEO and has stepped back from management. Cointelegraph reached out to Binance but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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