Binance’s chief compliance officer Noah Perlman reportedly has ties to the collapse of FTX, the troubled Winklevoss-owned Gemini, and infamous sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
This is according to a report by investigative media outlet Unlimited Hangout.
Perlman took up his current role at Binance after his predecessor Samuel Lim left the company last year and is, as detailed by Unlimited Hangout, front and center in Binance’s attempts to successfully negotiate numerous government investigations, including recent settlements with the Department of Justice (DoJ) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and an ongoing legal tussel with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
These issues have recently seen former Binance chief Changpeng Zhao (CZ) plead guilty in a Seattle court to a number of felony charges, and Lim agree to pay $1.5 million in civil penalties to the CFTC.
However, according to Unlimited Hangout, Perlman’s own colorful history bears a closer look, particularly given his high profile and highly influential new(ish) role.
Family ties to Jeffery Epstein
First up, there’s Perlman’s ties to one of the world’s most infamous sex traffickers.
As detailed by Unlimited Hangout, Perlman previously held the role of federal prosecutor for the DoJ. This post saw him working specifically as Special Coordinator for Crimes against Children — noteworthy given that his violinist father Itzhak Perlman flew on multiple occasions on a plane owned by Jeffrey Epstein.
Itzhak Perlman reportedly accompanied Epstein to Michigan’s Interlochen Center for the Arts — the school at which Epstein later built a lodge for Perlman to stay in and which was later dubbed “a lair to target girls.”
Noah Perlman remained with the DoJ for five years, later moving on to work with Morgan Stanley as global head of special investigations and then global head of financial crimes.
Perlman played a big role in Gemini’s failed Earn program
After a lengthy stint spent tackling issues around sanctions and money laundering for Morgan Stanley, Perlman joined the Winkelvoss Twins’ Gemini in 2019 as chief compliance officer.
Last month, the New York Attorney General (NYAG) filed a lawsuit against Gemini alleging that it engaged in a $1.1 billion fraud.
Timeline: Attorney General says Barry Silbert lied about risky Gemini Earn
Read more: Genesis wants Gemini’s $700M in ‘unfair’ transfers made before bankruptcy
Despite the fact that Perlman left Gemini months before this suit was filed, he had been heavily involved in the firm’s Earn program — the main focus of the alleged fraud — for some time.
Gemini Earn hit the skids following the implosion of FTX last year and was forced to pause withdrawals due to the exchange’s bankruptcy. It was later revealed that nearly 60% of Genesis’ loans were at one point tied to the FTX-linked hedge fund Alameda Research.
The NYAG’s lawsuit claims that certain risk management personnel knew that Gemini’s Earn program partner Genesis was financially unstable and removed their personal funds ahead of the collapse.
Specifically, it references the fact that Gemini’s chief operating officer “allegedly withdrew his entire investment of more than $100,000 from Earn on June 16 and 17 of last year.” While this officer isn’t named, Perlman held that position at the time.
Perlman was in deep with Moonstone Bank
Perlman also has deep connections to one of the most mysterious aspects of the FTX saga, namely Farmington State Bank.
In 2019, Perlman was listed as a director of FBH Corp., the company that took over the tiny rural bank. Farmington State Bank soon rebranded to Moonstone and Alameda Research quickly bought a $11.5 million stake. Former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried also reportedly invested $50 million in the bank during the subsequent months.
The curious case of FTX and Farmington State Bank, aka Moonstone
Read more: The company that created Moonstone Bank is no more
Despite this high-profile interest — and Perlman’s long and storied history in compliance and legal matters — Moonstone’s relationship with regulators was less than smooth sailing. Indeed, Unlimited Hangout describes it as “highly unusual and suspect” and the Federal Reserve went as far as to file an enforcement action against the bank in August, shortly after it decided to sell its deposits and assets to the Bank of Eastern Oregon.
H/T: Unlimited Hangout
