A federal judge has put a $1.3 billion acquisition of Voyager Digital assets on hold.
Federal Judge Jennifer Rearden of the US District Court in New York approved the US government’s request for an emergency stay, temporarily stopping the potential deal to sell Voyager Digital to Binance.US.
The stay will give the US Department of Justice (DOJ) more time to pursue appeals challenging the bankruptcy plan.
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The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the office of the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York filed an appeal in early March challenging the court’s approval of the sale.
On March 20th, Voyager Digital and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors responded to DOJ's request. Voyager argued that the delay could cause Binance.US to pull out of the deal. The DOJ responded again to the motion on March 21st.
However, despite numerous back-and-forth motions, on March 27th, the federal Judge granted the request to suspend Binance.US's acquisition of Voyager.
Upon consideration of all parties’ written submissions, as well as the conferences and oral argument held in this matter, the Government’s emergency motion is hereby GRANTED.
The appellants argued that the deal could approve the sale of unregistered securities and transactions that violate US securities laws.
In a March 15th motion by SEC, the top regulator argued that the bankruptcy plan would allow theft, fraud, and tax avoidance.
Voyager responded to the DOJ appeals, claiming that they should not be allowed to delay the legal process.
Voyager Digital, a defunct cryptocurrency brokerage company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 5th, 2022. Voyager entered a restructuring plan to coordinate the redistribution of funds.
It is worth noting that Binance.US is not the first company attempting to purchase Voyager Digital assets. At the end of September, weeks before filing for bankruptcy, crypto exchange FTX US won the bid for Voyager. However, after the FTX collapse, Voyager and the FTX US deal was flushed down the drain.
