Nigeria SEC Issues Second Warning against Binance Imposter Binance Nigeria Limited

The Nigeria Securities and Exchange Commission issued a warning against Binance Nigeria Limited, a fraudulent company with the same name as Binance, describing it as an unregulated and unregistered exchange.

As the company's operations are not subject to any regulation, the Nigeria SEC cautioned that "any member of the investing public dealing with the entity making such solicitation is doing so at his/her own risk."

This is the second warning issued by the Nigerian regulatory authorities against this fraudulent entity. At the beginning of June, the regulator said that it had learned about Binance Nigeria Limited and ordered the company to "immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever."

The second warning echoes the June order of requiring "platform providers, making such solicitations" to stop attracting investors in Nigeria.

"We are aware of the circular, however, the entity mentioned in the circular is not affiliated with us. We are therefore seeking clarity from the Nigerian SEC and remain committed to working with them cooperatively on the next steps," a Binance spokesperson said.

Outside Nigeria, the true Binance has been struggling with the regulatory environment in Europe and the United States, although it is Binance.US that operates in the U.S., not Binance.

In June of this year, the French authorities conducted a field visit to Binance, as the global exchange was reportedly facing an investigation by French authorities. However, Binance stated that the field visit is "part of regulatory obligations to which all financial institutions must adhere". It spent "considerable time" and resources cooperating with "law enforcement globally", added Binance.

Due to troubles in registration, Binance has also withdrawn from multiple European countries. Europe recently passed the Markets in Crypto Assets Act (MiCA), aiming at regulating the crypto industry.

Last week, Binance "proactively" withdrew its application to conduct business in Germany, despite previous reports that Germany’s regulatory agency BaFin refused to issue a license to the exchange.

Besides, Binance announced in June that it plans to withdraw from the Netherlands and Cyprus markets.

However, it is not all bad news for Binance, as it has indeed announced that it is one step closer to obtaining full approval from Dubai's regulatory authorities. The Virtual Asset Supervision Authority granted Binance a minimum viable product license on Monday, which means it only needs to obtain a full market product license to provide more authorization services.

(Source: Blockworks)