Changpeng Zhao sues Hong Kong’s Bloomberg Businessweek

The CEO of Binance has sued Bloomberg Businessweek in Hong Kong, accusing the outlet of defamation.

Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has revealed that he has filed a lawsuit against Bloomberg Businessweek in Hong Kong.

Bloomberg published an article using the title “Zhao Changpeng’s Ponzi Scheme,” and this enraged the founder of Binance.

CZ sued Bloomberg Businessweek’s Hong Kong publisher Modern Media Company Limited, on Monday, July 25th. Modern Media is an independent entity that licences Bloomberg content.

According to the filing, the Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese article alleged that the Binance CEO was operating a crypto Ponzi scheme. 

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

Bloomberg initially published an article on June 23 titled Can Crypto’s Richest Man Stand the Cold?” However, the Chinese edition published its version titled “Zhao Changpeng’s Ponzi Scheme.”

Last month, CZ commented on the issues, stating that 

“While most journalists at Bloomberg are good, but this time, it was bad. 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.”

After filing the lawsuit, CZ tweeted that people should be accountable for their actions.

Be accountable for your actions.

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) July 25, 2022

The Binance CEO is also suing Bloomberg for using the Ponzi-referencing title in the Chinese edition of Bloomberg Businessweek’s social media accounts to promote the piece. 

The filings showed that the Chinese language article was also distributed in print around Hong Kong earlier this month. 

The Binance boss also filed a motion for discovery was also filed against Bloomberg in the United States for defamatory comments in the original article. The filing read;

“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.”

CZ wants to bar Bloomberg from republishing the statements in Hong Kong. The Binance boss also wants to see the removal and recalling of the statements while also paying for damages.