CZ files motion to dismiss FTX’s $1.7B lawsuit, arguing lack of jurisdiction and calling claims legally and factually groundless.

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the co-founder and former CEO of Binance, has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought against him by the bankruptcy estate of FTX. The motion was filed on August 4, 2025, and challenges both the legal process and the claims made by FTX.

FTX Sues CZ, Alleges Role in $1.7B Share Repurchase & Collapse

The lawsuit was initiated in November 2024, when the bankruptcy estate of FTX sued Binance and CZ. The case alleges that Alameda Research, the sister company of FTX, wrongly funded a share repurchase of 1.7 billion arranged in 2021. FTX claims CZ had gained access to the funds in an illegal transfer as it put it.

Besides, the case also alleges that CZ contributed to the instability of FTX, which failed in 2022. According to the bankruptcy estate, certain tweets and other public statements that CZ made caused fear regarding the financial position of FTX. FTX states that the actions contributed to the collapse of the company.

CZ is fighting back now. In his motion, he claims that the Delaware court lacks any jurisdiction in hearing the case. According to him, the suit was improperly served. CZ is based in the United Arab Emirates, and the legal notice was done by his lawyers based in the United States. His lawyers claim that such a procedure is not legal in the context of international law.

In addition, the motion clarifies that the majority of the major companies and individuals in the case are not headquartered in the U.S. Alameda is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and Binance entities are in Ireland and the Cayman Islands. Due to this, the lawyers of CZ state that U.S. laws, which FTX employs in its case, are not supposed to be applied.

Related Reading: Binance Urges Court to Dismiss $1.76 Billion FTX Lawsuit 

CZ Denies FTX Lawsuit Allegations, Calls Case Baseless

Besides all these legal claims, CZ is also denying the primary arguments of the suit. According to him the case is poor and baseless. As per his legal complaint, Binance and FTX were business partners only briefly and terminated the relationship long before the collapse of FTX.

CZ also says that Binance’s decision to sell its FTT tokens in 2022 had nothing to do with FTX’s downfall. He states that the sale occurred more than one year ago since the partnership led to its termination.

This is CZ, and FTX is not the first time clashing. Binance was summoned in 2022 in a British court to testify against FTX. FTX sued CZ again in 2023 over his social media posts. They said the posts harmed the company’s image. Sam Bankman-Fried also blamed CZ for the liquidity crisis that shut down FTX.

Since the inception of the present case, the lawyers of FTX have not achieved much success in court. According to the lawyers of CZ, now FTX attempts to switch the blame to its leaders instead of others.

To sum it all up, CZ is asking the court to dismiss the case, claiming it is legally flawed and based on false facts. The case has not yet been concluded, and the court must now determine if the claims may proceed.