The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has filed a lawsuit against Binance Australia Derivatives for alleged consumer protection failures. Concurrently, Interpol issued a Red Notice for Hex founder Richard Schueler, and Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm is attempting to have charges against him dropped.
ASIC Action Against Binance Australia
On December 18, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) filed a lawsuit against Binance Australia Derivatives. ASIC claimed that the crypto derivatives trading platform misclassified over 500 retail clients as wholesale investors between July 2022 and April 2023. This classification, as per the regulator, stripped retail clients of the legal protections afforded by Australian financial laws. ASIC described these breaches as 'woefully inadequate.'
Interpol Issues Red Notice for Hex Founder
On December 22, Interpol, the world’s largest international police organization, issued a Red Notice for Hex founder Richard Schueler, also known as Richard Heart. The notice is a global request for law enforcement to locate and provisionally arrest Schueler for alleged tax fraud and assault of a 16-year-old victim. Schueler was also listed on Europe’s most-wanted fugitives list, where further details regarding the allegations were provided.
Tornado Cash Co-founder Seeks to Drop Charges
Roman Storm, the co-founder of the crypto mixing platform Tornado Cash, told a United States federal judge that his charges should be dropped following an appeals court's decision that sanctions against the platform’s smart contracts were unlawful. In his December 18 motion in the Manhattan District Court, Storm stated that the findings of the case against OFAC clearly indicate that all three counts of the indictment were fatally and legally flawed.
The ongoing scrutiny and legal challenges surrounding cryptocurrency platforms and their founders highlight the increasing importance of regulation and adherence to international standards in the crypto industry.
