Digital asset exchange Binance has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Binance Nigeria, an entity the global giant claims to have no affiliation with.
Earlier this month, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a notice to Binance Nigeria, ordering it to halt operations. The regulator claimed the exchange had been soliciting Nigerian investors without a license.
At the time, a spokesperson from the global exchange denied links to the Nigerian entity. She claimed the exchange was working with the SEC to resolve the matter.
Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has now revealed that the exchange has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the “scam” entity. “Don’t believe everything you read in the news,” he added.
Binance have issued cease & desist notice to the scammer entity "Binance Nigeria Limited".
Don't believe everything you read in the news. 🤷♂️
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) June 18, 2023
Neither the Nigerian SEC nor Binance Nigeria has made any statement on the matter at press time.
And while CZ has seemingly dodged regulatory action in Nigeria, authorities in other countries are hot on his heels. In the U.S., the SEC sued Binance for calculated evasion of securities laws, artificially inflating trading volume, comingling of customer assets, and more.
In the most recent development, Binance entered an agreement with the SEC to ensure that all Binance.US customers’ assets remain in the U.S. until the lawsuit is settled. Officials from the global exchange will be denied access to Binance.US keys under the agreement.
Elsewhere, French authorities are investigating Binance’s anti-money laundering procedures, reports in France reveal.
“We had an on-site visit last week by the relevant authorities. Binance, as always, was fully collaborative and we met our obligations accordingly,” a Binance spokesperson acknowledged.
The exchange hasn’t fared any better in the Netherlands. It announced last week that it would cut off Dutch users as it had failed to secure a license from the country’s central bank.
“While Binance is disappointed that this has become necessary, it will continue to engage productively and transparently with Dutch regulators,” a spokesperson told the media.
Follow CoinGeek’s Crypto Crime Cartel series, which delves into the stream of groups—from BitMEX to Binance, Bitcoin.com, Blockstream, ShapeShift, Coinbase, Ripple,
Ethereum, FTX and Tether—who have co-opted the digital asset revolution and turned the industry into a minefield for naïve (and even experienced) players in the market.
New to blockchain? Check out CoinGeek’s Blockchain for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about blockchain technology.
