SEC Joins U.S Commission to Declare Binance Operations in Nigeria Illegal

Kayode Tokede

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has joined the United States’ Commission to declare the activities of Binance in Nigeria illegal.

Nigeria’s commission in a circular on its official website warned that, any Nigerian trading on Binance Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of the well-known global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is doing so at his or her own risk.

According to the circular, “The attention of the Commission has been drawn to the website operated by Binance Nigeria Limited, soliciting the Nigerian public to trade crypto assets on its various web and mobile-enabled platforms. Binance Nigeria Limited is neither registered nor regulated by the Commission and its operations in Nigeria are therefore illegal. Any member of the investing public dealing with the entity is doing so at his/her own risk”.

The crypto-giant, Binance has been accused of engaging in a “web of deception” as it was hit with another lawsuit by US financial regulators.

The U.S SEC said the trading platform and its founder Changpeng Zhao ignored the rules meant to protect investors to keep operating in the US.

Both the company and Zhao are accused of mishandling customer funds.

The complaint from the U.S SEC is the second lawsuit filed against the firm this year and follows promises by the US to police the crypto industry more aggressively.

The company, which was founded in 2017 and is active in more than 100 countries, denied that customer money had been at risk.

“While we take the SEC’s allegations seriously, they should not be the subject of an SEC enforcement action,” Binance said, adding it had been in discussions with the regulator.

SEC further stated, “As the regulator with the statutory mandate of investor protection, the Commission urges Nigerians to be wary of investing in crypto-assets, and crypto-asset related financial products and services if the service provider/its platform is not registered or regulated by the Commission.

The Commission therefore warned Nigerian investors that investing in crypto-assets is extremely risky and may result in total loss of their investment.

“By this circular, Binance Nigeria Limited is hereby directed to immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever. The Commission shall provide updates on further regulatory actions with respect to the activities of Binance Nigeria Limited, and other similar platforms and shall work with other regulators in Nigeria to provide further guidance on this matter, “SEC added.