Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is reportedly suing the Hong Kong publisher of business publication Bloomberg Businessweek for defamation.
The Hong Kong Economic Times says Zhao is suing Modern Media over a translated article published weeks ago that portrayed the Binance CEO as running a “Ponzi scheme.”
Modern Media publishes the Chinese edition of Bloomberg Businessweek.
According to the report, the original version of the Bloomberg Businessweek cover article that was published online on June 23rd was titled “Can Crypto’s Richest Man Stand the Cold?” The translated version was titled “Changpeng Zhao’s Ponzi Scheme”.
The report says that in the lawsuit filed at the Hong Kong Court of First Instance, Zhao claims that the Chinese version of the article hurt his image besides causing him distress and embarrassment.
“The plaintiff pointed out that Modern Media is an important and influential local media, but the statement is defamatory, causing it to be hated, despised and ridiculed, and harming the plaintiff’s image in the general public, especially in the cryptocurrency and business circles, It caused him considerable distress and embarrassment.”
Last month, the Binance CEO branded the “Can Crypto’s Richest Man Stand the Cold?” piece “bad” and “unprofessional” over how he was portrayed.
“The comments here say it all. While most journalists at Bloomberg are good, but this time, it was bad.
Bloomberg: hey, we will do a nice profile piece on you, invite you for photoshoots, etc. Then switches the story last minute. Ignore all positive comments they got from 3rd parties. Picked only old negatives. And still puts you on the cover… Unprofessional.”
