Jan 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has objected to the proposed $1 billion acquisition of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital by the U.S. affiliate of the major Binance cryptocurrency exchange.
In a court filing on Wednesday, the SEC made a "limited objection" to the deal, saying Binance.US had failed to include necessary information in a disclosure statement.
The acquisition agreement lacked details on Binance.US's ability to close the deal, the SEC said, asking for more information on the nature of its business operations following closure of the deal.
A spokesperson for California-based Binance.US said: "A diligent review of the deal is to be expected and welcomed. We will work with the relevant parties to provide any requested information. We look forward to completing the transaction."
Lawyers for Voyager did not respond to requests for comment.
The SEC objection is the latest hurdle for the Binance.US-Voyager deal, and a further sign of regulatory scrutiny for Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange, and its affiliates.
The U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which vets foreign investments into U.S. companies for national security risks, said last month it was reviewing the planned acquisition, potentially delaying or blocking it.
Binance's founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao - a Canadian citizen who was born in China - has said that Binance.US is a "fully independent entity." However, Reuters reported in October that Zhao controlled Binance.US, directing its management from abroad.
Binance, which controls over half of global crypto trading but declines to say where it is based, is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for possible money laundering and sanctions violations. Reuters reported last month that some prosecutors believe they have gathered sufficient evidence to charge Binance and executives including Zhao.
Asked to comment about the investigation, Binance said in December: "We don't have any insight into the inner workings of the US Justice Department, nor would it be appropriate for us to comment if we did."
Voyager filed for bankruptcy in July, after the crash of two major tokens sent shockwaves through the crypto industry.
It initially planned to sell its assets to crypto exchange FTX, but that deal imploded when FTX went bankrupt in November. FTX's founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on criminal fraud charges last month. (Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru and Tom Wilson in London; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Susan Fenton)
