Lord Johnson of Marylebone reportedly took on a role on the UK advisory board of one of Binance’s subsidiaries in September.
According to a report by the Telegraph, Jo Johnson, the brother of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has stepped down from his role as an adviser to Binance.
According to the report, Jo Johnson had advised Binance during the exchange’s efforts to expand into the UK. The former UK Prime Minister’s brother, also known as Lord Johnson of Marylebone, reportedly took on a role on the UK advisory board of one of Binance’s subsidiaries, Bitfinity, in September.
The Telegraph reported that he resigned last week after Binance’s reserve statement raised red flags for some accounting and finance professionals amid negative sentiment that impacted the stock market, causing a bank run soon after.
In a statement released Dec. 19, Johnson said, “I resigned from the advisory board last week and have no role [or] related entity there.”
publicity
Stay safe in Web3. Learn more about Web3 Antivirus →
Bitfinity, the company that allegedly advised Johnson, was founded by Binance in March 2022 and is “part of the Binance Group”, as described in a filing with US regulators in April. The company converts traditional currencies such as British Pounds and US Dollars into digital currencies.
Related: CryptoQuant Checks Binance Reserves, Reports No “FTX-Like” Behavior
On December 16, Cointelegraph announced that Binance proof of reserve had been removed from the Mazars Group website. Mazars, which has been appointed official auditor of Binance’s proof of reserve updates, has completely shut down Mazars Veritas, a department that handles audits of cryptocurrency exchanges.
According to a December 19 press release, Binance.US will acquire the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital for $1.022 billion. The deal is expected to close by April 18, 2023. Binance has agreed to make a good faith deposit of $10 million and reimburse Voyager for certain expenses up to a maximum of $15 million.
