Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the subject of a class action lawsuit in the United States. Investors are accusing him of illegally promoting unregistered cryptocurrencies, in particular NFT Binance, as part of a partnership with the exchange platform.
Cristiano Ronaldo in turmoil after promoting his Binance NFT collection
Soccer megastar, Cristiano Ronaldo, is being sued for promoting digital tokens to Binance the cryptocurrency giant recently convicted of financial offenses in the United States.
Indeed, according to the complaint filed on November 27 in Florida, Ronaldo “promoted, aided and actively participated in the sale of unregistered securities” via his NFT collections created with Binance from 2022.
By attracting millions of fans to these NFTs, the Portuguese footballer would have encouraged them to also invest in other undeclared cryptocurrencies on the exchange, such as BNB and yield programs.
“Ronaldo’s promotions solicited or helped Binance to solicit investments in unregistered securities by encouraging its millions of followers, fans and supporters to invest with the Binance platform.”
Extract from the plaintiffs’ statement of claim
Thus, thanks to his immense influence on social networks (850 million subscribers), Ronaldo has made a major contribution to Binance’s popularity. The launch of his NFT has even led to a 500% increase in searches on the platform, according to the plaintiffs. They accuse him of not informing his followers that these investments were not registered with regulators, as required by law.
Three investors cheated, Michael Sizemore, Mikey Vongdara and Gordon Lewis are now seeking compensation for their heavy losses through this class action. They are demanding the payment of damages as well as reimbursement of legal costs.
Complicated relationship with American justice for soccer superstar
This complaint comes against a backdrop of ongoing tensions between Binance and the US authorities.
Recently, the platform admitted its guilt for money laundering and compliance violations. It will pay $4.5 billion in fines and will be under Justice Department supervision for 5 years. Meanwhile, the executive, Changpeng Zhao faces up to 18 months in prison
In addition, the SEC is also investigating Binance for the improper sale of securities and misappropriation of funds of customer funds. The professional soccer’s new troubles with the law are likely to complicate matters even further.
Mespite the seriousness of the accusations, it remains difficult to predict the outcome of this case. On the one hand, Ronaldo fiercely denies any wrongdoing. On the other, his image is already taking a beating. And even if he gets off scot-free, the controversy leaves its mark.
As a journalist at Coinpri, I’ve been captivated by the world of bitcoin and blockchain since 2020. The decentralized aspect of Bitcoin particularly piqued my interest. Since then, I’ve been working constantly to spread my knowledge, hoping one day to see a world where everyone fully enjoys their financial freedom.
