Binance Sends Letter To Binance Nigeria Limited, Here's Why

Binance denies involvement of fraud in Nigeria. (photo: twitter @binance)

JAKARTA - Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced that Binance had officially issued a letter of prevention and prohibition to a fraud entity known as Binance Nigeria Limited.

On Sunday, June 18, Zhao announced this via Twitter. On June 9, Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a circular stating Binance Nigeria's illegal activities were Limited in the country.

According to reports, a Binance spokesperson responded that the entity mentioned in the circular was not affiliated with their company. The spokesman stated the company's intention to seek clarity from the Nigerian SEC and repeated its commitment to working together in further steps.

Although Binance denies affiliates with Binance Nigeria Limited mentioned in the SEC circular, the company is currently also facing a lawsuit from the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). The United States SEC has filed 13 charges against Binance and Zhao entities.

Several charges include operations as an exchange, brokerage companies, unregistered clearing institutions, and presenting false information about trade controls. The United States SEC stated that despite generating revenues of US$11.6 billion (Rp173.5 trillion) from US customers, Binance and Zhao did not register themselves as exchanges, brokerage companies, or clearing institutions.

In its latest developments on June 17, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the United States approved an agreement between Binance.US, Binance, and the United States SEC. This agreement resulted in the cancellation of a previous temporary security order aimed at freezing all Binance.US assets.

Binance, which is available in around 100 countries, listed its headquarters in George Town, Cayman Islands in 2017. In 2019, the company also listed its subsidiary in Mahe, Seychelles.