Cristiano Ronaldo, the famous footballer, is facing a lawsuit filed in a Florida District Court on November 27, 2023, over endorsing Binance. Michael Sizemore, Mikey Vongdara, and Gordon Lewis filed the lawsuit, alleging that they suffered losses as a result of Ronaldo’s promotion of the exchange. They argue that Binance failed to take appropriate anti-money laundering measures. The exchange was also recently asked to pay $4.3 billion in settlements to US authorities.
Ronaldo had signed a multi-year partnership with Binance in 2022 to promote his own non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The lawsuit claims that users who signed up for the NFT collection were more likely to use the exchange for buying unregistered securities, including BNB tokens and the exchange’s yield programs. The lawsuit suggests that Ronaldo should have known about Binance’s sale of unregistered crypto securities, given his investment experience and resources to seek outside advice.
Additionally, the lawsuit mentions the SEC’s warning to celebrities about disclosing payments received for promoting cryptocurrencies. The plaintiffs assert that Ronaldo did not disclose the payments received from Binance.
