US officials continue their efforts to block a key clause in Voyager’s sale to Binance.US despite the court authorization.
US Trustee William Harrington, several government attorneys, and the US Department of Justice submitted an appeal on March 14th in a New York bankruptcy court against exculpation provisions in the ruling on Voyager’s sale to Binance.US.
The condition would prevent authorities from bringing legal action against any party involved in the sale. The appellants stated that “the court improperly exceeded its statutory power” by offering such protection in the ruling.
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The Court approved the acquisition on a March 7th ruling. More than 97% of Voyager customers favored the plan that would preclude US officials from going after anyone connected to the sale of the bankrupt lender.
However, it is worth noting that the US officials and the Justice Department are not opposing the entire ruling by the court that allowed Voyage’s sale to Binance.US. As Bloomberg reports, the appellants are only contesting the exculpation provisions.
Other aspects of the deal could go forward, but not the legal protections included as part of Voyager’s Chapter 11 plan.
The US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) also opposed the exculpation provision, describing it as “extraordinary” and “highly improper.”
A court hearing on the issue was held on March 15th. However, it is unclear what was court's decision.
Voyager won the case against state and federal regulators opposing the move to sell the liquidity-troubled lender in a deal worth $1 billion.
However, it is worth noting that it is not the first time Voyager is on the verge of selling its digital assets. At the end of September, FTX US won the bid for Voyager digital assets and planned to acquire them for over $1.4 billion. Despite that, the deal fell through after FTX US and its parent company FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November.
