The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has highlighted reasons for banning Binance Nigeria Limited.
SEC disclosed the reasons in a statement published on its website on Saturday June 10, 2022.
The SEC said Binance Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of the well-known global cryptocurrency exchange firm, has been actively promoting its web and mobile-enabled platforms to the Nigerian public.
According to SEC, Binance is operating illegally in the country as it is neither registered nor controlled by the regulatory body.
“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 SEC warned.
He added, “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.”
It directed Binance Nigeria Limited to immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever.
Apart from the Nigerian regulatory agency, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) aslo announed a legal lawsuit against Binance stating that the firm and its affiliate BAM Trading operated as an unregistered securities exchange, broker-dealer, and clearing agency.
It added that Binance sold unregistered securities, including its native tokens BNB and BUSD.
“The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (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,” SEC said.
It continued, “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.
“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. Nigerian investors are hereby warned 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.”