A New York suppose has rejected a New York Attorney General’s office request to have Bitfinex and Tether collect all documents pertaining to an hypothetical $850 million cover-up and $900 million line of credit.
The NYAG’s office asked New York Supreme Court Detention Joel Cohen to order Bitfinex, Tether, and a number of other affiliated entities to compile all documentation about the allowance earlier this month during an ongoing appeals process. Bitfinex opposed this request in another learning sent to the judge earlier this week. On Thursday, the judge ruled in Bitfinex’s favor, writing:
“OAG’s request to commitment Respondents to search for and collect all documents and information called for in the §354 Order is denied as inconsistent with the order of the Premier Department ‘stay[ing] enforcement of the [§354 Order] pending hearing and determination of the appeal.’”
However, a second request – that an order preventing Tether from lending any further funds to Bitfinex be extended – was granted. The respondents did not oppose this call for.
“The injunction is hereby extended pending the hearing and determination of the appeal and, if OAG prevails on that appeal, for 90 days thereafter,” the referee wrote. “The procedure for OAG to seek further extension of the injunction remains as set forth in the Court’s May 16 Order.”
Bitfinex’s juridical fight with the NYAG began in April 2019, when the state prosecutor first alleged that Bitfinex had spent access to $850 million in funds held by Crypto Capital Corp., a payment processor whose operators were later indicted by the U.S. Unit of Justice. Stablecoin issuer Tether extended a line of credit and provided a loan to Bitfinex to cover the shortfall. The NYAG’s patronage requested access to the documents surrounding this deal.
While Judge Cohen ruled in the NYAG’s favor one more time the summer, the companies secured a temporary appeal last month. They now have until November to “perfect” the beguile, with arguments to be heard in court early next year.
In a statement sent to CoinDesk, Bitfinex and Tether shared counsel Stuart Hoegner said, “We are pleased by Judge Cohen’s decision of Oct. 9th. A stay is a stay. We have consistently agreed with the court’s orders in this matter, and we will continue to do so. We continue to look forward to addressing these high-ranking issues before the appellate court.”
The NYAG’s office declined to comment.
New York State Supreme Court twin via Nikhilesh De for CoinDesk