CEO of Binance Changpeng Zhao has announced that Binance has officially issued a cease and desist notice to a fraudulent entity known as Binance Nigeria Limited.
On Sunday, June 18, Zhao took to Twitter to create notification. On June 9, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released circular stating the illegality of Binance Nigeria Limited in the country.
According to a Binance spokesperson responded to the news that the entity named in the circular is not affiliated with the company. The spokesperson expressed the company’s intention to seek clarification from the Nigerian SEC and reiterated its commitment to work with it on the next steps.
Binance has issued a cease and desist notice for the fraudulent entity “Binance Nigeria Limited”.
Don’t believe everything you read in the news. ♂️
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) June 18, 2023
During this period, a Nigerian SEC circular cast a shadow over Binance’s prospects. Although Binance did not maintain any affiliation with Binance Nigeria Limited as stated in the circular, the company was simultaneously facing a lawsuit from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC). The US Commission has brought 13 charges against Binance entities and their CEO Changpeng Zhao.
Some of the charges include operating unregistered exchanges, broker-dealers and clearing agencies and misrepresenting trading controls. The US SEC said that despite making $11.6 billion in revenue from US customers, Binance and Zhao failed to register as an exchange, broker-dealer or clearing agency. Binance Holdings Limited was also accused of providing access to Binance.com to high-net-worth US investors.
In a recent development, on June 17, United States Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted approval to an agreement reached between Binance.US, Binance and the Securities and Exchange Commission. This agreement resulted in the lifting of a previous temporary restraining order (TRO) that sought to freeze all assets of Binance.US.
Related: The CEO of Binance CZ considers the SEC’s request for emergency assistance unfounded
Available in around 100 countries, Binance registered its headquarters, Binance Holdings Limited, in George Town, Cayman Islands in 2017. In 2019, it also registered Binance Investments Company in Mahe, Seychelles.
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