Binance sends cease and desist notice to Nigerian scammer entity

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has announced that Binance has officially issued a cease and desist notice to the fraudulent entity known as Binance Nigeria Limited. 

On Sunday, June 18, Zhao took to Twitter to make the announcement. On June 9, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a circular stating the illegality of Binance Nigeria Limited in the country.

According to reports, a Binance spokesperson responded that the entity mentioned in the circular is not affiliated with the company. The spokesperson expressed the company’s intention to seek clarity from the Nigerian SEC and reiterated its commitment to cooperating with it on the next steps.

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

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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