June 19, 2023 (MLN): Binance Nigeria Limited is a fraudulent company that has no relation to Binance, the biggest crypto trading platform. Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao announced on Twitter on Sunday that they have issued a cease and desist order, calling the Nigerian company a "scammer entity".
Earlier this month, Nigeria's markets regulator ordered Binance to halt its operations in the country, saying local unit "Binance Nigeria Limited" that courted Nigerian investors through a website was not registered or regulated, making it illegal.
Although Binance claimed no affiliation with Binance Nigeria Limited, as mentioned in the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC)’s circular, the company is concurrently facing a lawsuit from the United States SEC. The U.S. SEC has filed 13 charges against Binance entities and Zhao.
Binance has announced plans to leave the Netherlands, Cyprus, Canada, and Australia, after being charged by the U.S. SEC.
The SEC sued Binance and Zhao earlier this month for breaking US securities rules, alleging that the company artificially inflated its trading volumes, commingled customer assets, and misled investors about its market surveillance controls.
Gary Gensler stated "through thirteen charges, we allege that Zhao and Binance entities engaged in an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law."
