Cristiano Ronaldo, current Saudi Al-Nassr footballer, is facing a class action lawsuit worth more than $1 billion in the United States filed by a group of investors in Binance, the world’s largest digital currency exchange platform and of which the athlete was an image. A few days ago it accepted a million-dollar fine from the US Department of Justice for money laundering, which led to the resignation of its founder.
As the BBC reported this Wednesday, a year ago Ronaldo and Binance announced the launch of a collection of NFTs, a type of unique digital assets that can be bought and sold, under the CR7 brand. According to Ronaldo, it was a way to give back “all the years of support” to his fans. “We will change the world of NFTs and take football to the next level,” said the Portuguese in a promotional video. These assets were priced at $77 when they were launched, but are currently barely worth a dollar after all of these types of products failed last year.
The plaintiffs point out that this alliance between Binance and Ronaldo led them to delve into the world of cryptocurrencies. To this end, they argue that internet searches for Binance increased by 500% as a result of the agreement and that all this led to them investing in unregistered securities of the platform, such as the cryptocurrency BNB.
According to the SEC, the American financial regulator, these assets can be considered securities, so celebrities must abide by the laws set by the country to promote them. For example, indicate who and how much they pay to promote investments in these assets. “When celebrities promote investment opportunities, including crypto assets, investors should ensure that the investments are right for them and they should know why the celebrities are promoting them,” said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
The plaintiffs argue that Ronaldo should have disclosed the compensation he received from Binance but failed to do so.
The lawsuit was filed a week after the U.S. Department of Justice demanded more than $4 billion from Binance for money laundering following an investigation into alleged help in circumventing U.S. sanctions on Iran and Russia. The company was also officially investigated to check whether it facilitated transactions that helped finance Hamas.
Its founder, Changpeng Zhao, resigned last week after pleading guilty to violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act and accepting the sanction.
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