This article comes fromThe Block, original author: Aislinn Keely
Odaily Translator |
This article comes from
, original author: Aislinn Keely
Odaily Translator |
According to new court filings by the New York Office of the Attorney General (NYOAG), iFinex, the parent company of Bitfinex and Tether, falls within its jurisdiction due to the presence of numerous transactions in New York, including allowing New York users to use it despite an express ban. Bitfinex has previously argued that it does not do business with New York clients and therefore should not be required to comply with NYOAGs investigative demands.
NYOAG first filed the lawsuit in April, alleging in part that the exchange concealed $850 million in losses by commingling funds from its sister company Tether and failing to comply with pre-litigation documentation and information requirements under New Yorks Martin Act .
Since then, NYOAG has been embroiled in a legal battle with the exchange. The outcome of the current dispute depends on whether Bitfinex and Tether have operations in New York. If the court finds that there was no contact, and there has been no previous contact for as long as the court deems reasonable, the inquiry request will be dismissed.
The documents allege that Bitfinex and Tether have multiple ties to the state, primarily showing that Bitfinex is still providing services to New York residents after Bitfinex claimed it would stop serving New York traders in 2015. NYOAG provided IP logs of New York users as evidence.
“OAG has obtained additional evidence that the Bitfinex trading platform will remain available to New York traders through 2019 at the latest.” In addition, NYOAG offered to privately show the court sensitive documents related to its investigation so as not to hinder ongoing investigative work, And cited as precedent a 1976 case involving an investigation by the New York State Organized Crime Task Force.
They detail that, up until January 2019, Bitfinex respondents communicated with New York-based traders regarding their activity on the platform and the allocation of funds to Crypto Capital.
