Bitfinex And Tether Proceed With Case Dismissal Due To Lack Of Jurisdiction

The lawyers from Bitfinex and Tether recently decided to dismiss their ongoing case versus the New York Attorney General (NYAG), as the recent court filings show on May 21. In the latest cryptocurrency news, the law firms representing the two companies argued that the New York Supreme Court (NYSC) does not have jurisdiction over the alleged misconduct being considered.

The lawyers further argue that the NYSC has neither personal nor subject matter jurisdiction and cannot be appealed to – mostly because Bitfinex and Tether are neither operated out of New York nor harmed investors in that state. As the motion shows:

“The Office of the New York Attorney General (“OAG”) initiated this special proceeding ostensibly ‘to protect New York investors.’ […]”

However, OAG chose to target two virtual currency businesses which are not related with the New York investors – “and don’t allow New Yorkers on their platforms and do not advertise or otherwise do business here,” as the statement shows.

As the coming altcoin news show, the counsel also argues that the Martin Act – which is a law governing securities and commodities which the NYAG is using – does not apply to Tether’s stablecoin and is therefore irrelevant to the Bitfinex and Tether case.

Speaking of, the case between Bitfinex and Tether was first initiated from a court filing in April signed by Letitia James, who accused the two organizations of defrauding New York investors via a massive $850 million loss cover-up. At the time, James said:

“New York state has led the way in requiring virtual currency businesses to operate according to the law. And we will continue to stand-up for investors and seek justice on their behalf when misled or cheated by any of these companies.”

A new development in the case is on many best cryptocurrency news sites, revealed as the attorney for Bitfinex mentioned that Tether was invested in Bitcoin (BTC) and other assets. The New York Supreme Court Judge Joel M. Cohen responded with questions, stating:

“Tether sounded to me like sort of the calm in the storm of cryptocurrency trading. And so if Tether is backed by bitcoin, how is that consistent? If some of your assets are in a volatile currency that Tether is supposed to somehow modulate, that seems like it’s playing into what they are saying.”