Binance US hires former SEC enforcement co-director as it fights charges

Binance.US added four lawyers from Milbank LLP, including a former co-director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division, George Canellos, as the beleaguered crypto platform prepares its defense against US allegations of operating an illegal securities exchange.

Canellos, who is global head of the litigation and arbitration group at Milbank, previously supervised about 1,300 attorneys at the SEC on investigations including the insider trading actions against Raj Rajaratnam and hedge fund managers associated with S.A.C. Capital. Before then, he was chief of the major crimes unit at the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York.