Famous soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo has been charged $1 billion (approximately 145 billion yen, equivalent to 145 yen to the dollar) in connection with a commercial relationship with major cryptocurrency exchange Binance. ) is facing a class action lawsuit.

Suspected solicitation or assistance of investment in unregistered securities

The lawsuit, filed Nov. 28 in the Southern District of Florida District Court in Miami, alleges that Ronaldo “partnered with Binance to promote, support, and/or actively participate in the offering and sale of unregistered securities.” ” was filed.

The lawsuit purports to represent “consumers who purchased unregistered securities offered or sold by Binance.” The lead plaintiff is Michael Sizemore, a California resident, who said he purchased unregistered securities from Binance “after being exposed to some or all of Defendants’ misrepresentations and omissions with respect to Binance’s platform.” claims.

“Mr. Ronaldo’s promotions, by encouraging his millions of followers, fans, and supporters to invest on Binance’s platform, solicited, or was solicited by Binance, to invest in unregistered securities,” the complaint states. He is said to have supported the

Binance legal issues may increase

The lawsuit could add to Binance’s legal problems. In June, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance, the operator of Binance.US, and its founder Changpeng Zhao for allegedly violating federal securities laws. Last week, Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion to settle charges brought by U.S. prosecutors related to sanctions violations and money transfer law violations in a separate case.

Ronaldo partnered with Binance in 2022 to create an NFT collection featuring cartoon-style images depicting moments from his career.

Ronaldo is accused of “soliciting investments in unregistered securities by encouraging his millions of followers, fans and supporters to invest on the Binance platform.”

“Mr. Ronaldo’s promotions were published on public websites, television, and social media accounts accessible to plaintiffs across the country, including Florida,” the plaintiffs said, adding, “Based on information and belief, Mr. Ronaldo In exchange for the services, I received a substantial aggregate compensation package that may include compensation in the form of digital assets transmitted through the Binance platform.”

He also cited previous SEC warnings that crypto assets may qualify as securities and that celebrities must disclose when they are paid to promote securities.

CoinDesk has reached out to the cristianoronaldo.com email address for comment, but has not yet received a response.

｜Translation and editing: Rinan Hayashi
｜Image: Shutterstock
｜Original text: Soccer Star Cristiano Ronaldo Faces $1B Class Action Suit Over Binance Endorsement