Binance CEO sues Bloomberg subsidiary alleging defamation

cointelegraph.com:

Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao is suing Bloomberg Businessweek in Hong Kong, accusing the outlet of defamation.

On July 25, the Binance CEO, known by the crypto community as “CZ,” sued Bloomberg Businessweek’s Hong Kong publisher Modern Media Company Limited. Modern Media is an independent entity that licenses Bloomberg content.

The filing contained defamation claims which stem from a translated Chinese article that alleged the exchange boss was running a crypto Ponzi scheme.

The filing documents claimed that Modern Media published a report that “contained false, malicious and defamatory statements about Zhao and his company, Binance Holdings Limited.”

The Chinese edition ran its version of a June 23 Bloomberg article titled “Can Crypto’s Richest Man Stand the Cold?” but was published with the title “Zhao Changpeng’s Ponzi Scheme.”

On June 25, CZ commented on the original article, “While most journalists at Bloomberg are good, but this time, it was bad.” On July 25, he said, “Be accountable for your actions.”

Bloomberg: hey, we will do a nice profile piece on you, invite you for photoshoots, etc. Then switches the story last minute. Ignore all positive comments they got from 3rd parties. Picked only old negatives. And still puts you on the cover. WTF!? Unprofessional.

Zhao is also suing the publication for using the Ponzi-referencing title in the Chinese edition of Bloomberg Businessweek’s social media accounts to promote the article. The Chinese language article was also distributed in print around Hong Kong on July 7, according to the filings.

The filing is a personal suit and has nothing to do with the exchange or company, as confirmed by Binance when Cointelegraph reached out for comment.

A motion for discovery was