Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese soccer sensation, is embroiled in a legal battle because of his endorsement of Binance, a well-known international cryptocurrency exchange. He has always been a top professional and for his name to be dragged into a serious situation like this is problematic for him and his fans.
Ronaldo signed a multi-year deal with Binance, a well-known cryptocurrency exchange, to advertise his non-fungible token (NFT) holdings. Also, according to the $1 billion lawsuit filed by three men(according to various reports), this collaboration and Ronaldo’s enormous influence and reach lured naive investors to Binance, where they were allegedly tricked into making unregistered securities investments.
JUST IN: Cristiano Ronaldo sued for promoting #Binance pic.twitter.com/pMfqwrH1os
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) November 29, 2023
Ronaldo was accused in a November 27 complaint to a Florida district court that stated, “Ronaldo’s promotions solicited or assisted Binance in soliciting investments in unregistered securities by encouraging his millions of followers, fans, and supporters to invest with the Binance platform.”
Cooking something up with @Cristiano…
Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/OxqJ435bp3
— Binance (@binance) November 28, 2023
It remains to be seen what happens next with Ronaldo and how he and his lawyers deal with this serious situation that he has been put in. Also, for the time being, it does not look good for him, and an immediate response will be needed from Ronaldo on this sensitive matter.
Binance owner Changpeng “CZ” Zhao faces up to 18 months in prison
Apart from the Cristiano Ronaldo mess that has been created because of Binance, their owner and founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has pleaded guilty. He committed crimes of violations of Anti-Money Laundering laws and ran an unregistered money-transmitting business.
Federal prosecutors claim that Binance itself entered into a guilty plea and committed to paying the country $4.3 billion in fines and restitution according to various reports. Also, the Justice Department, Treasury Department, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission—all of which had been looking into Binance for years—reached settlements with the business under the terms of the accord.
Mr. Zhao consented to pay a $50 million fine and resign as the company’s CEO in exchange for his guilty plea. Additionally, according to federal sentencing guidelines, Mr. Zhao may spend up to 18 months in jail. Also, senior Justice Department officials have stated that prosecutors are considering the prospect of requesting a harsher sentence.
It remains to be seen how this story unfolds in the upcoming weeks as it is not looking good for Binance and anyone involved with them. Also, the charges imposed upon them by the US government, and they pleading guilty to it make matters even worse for Cristiano Ronaldo and his lawsuit.