Binance sends cease and desist notice to Nigerian scammer entity

June 18, 2023 Alex Rustok

Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has made an announcement stating that Binance has officially issued a cease and desist notice to the fraudulent entity known as Binance Nigeria Limited. 

On Sunday, June 18, the CEO took to Twitter to make the announcement. However, it’s worth noting that on June 9, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria (SEC), released a circular stating the illegality of Binance Nigeria Limited in the country.

According to reports, a Binance spokesperson responded, stating that the entity mentioned in the circular is not affiliated with them. They expressed their intention to seek clarity from the Nigerian SEC and reiterated their commitment to cooperating with them on the next steps.

During that period, the Nigerian SEC circular cast a shadow over Binance’s prospects. Although Binance maintained no affiliation with Binance Nigeria Limited, as mentioned in the circular, the company was concurrently facing a lawsuit from the United States Securities Exchange Commission(U.S. SEC). The U.S. Commission had filed 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 U.S. SEC stated that despite earning $11.6 billion from U.S. customers, Binance and Zhao failed to register as an exchange, broker-dealer, or clearing agency. Binance Holdings Limited was also accused of granting access to Binance.com to high-value U.S. investors.

In a recent development, United States Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted approval on June 17 to an agreement reached between Binance.US, Binance, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. This agreement resulted in the dismissal of a previous temporary restraining order (TRO) that aimed to freeze all Binance.US assets.

Related: Binance CEO CZ deems SEC’s request for emergency relief unwarranted

Binance, which is available in about 100 countries, 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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