CEO Zhao Calls Binance Nigeria Limited Scam Entity
The chief executive officer (CEO) of Binance, Mr Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, has called Binance Nigeria Limited a scam entity, noting that the cryptocurrency exchange has issued a cease and desist order.
In a recent tweet, Mr Zhao said, “Binance have issued cease & desist notice to the scammer entity Binance Nigeria Limited.”
He further added that, “Don’t believe everything you read in the news.”
Earlier this month, Nigerian regulator, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), ordered Binance to halt its operations in the country, saying the local unit “Binance Nigeria Limited” that courted Nigerian investors through a website was not registered or regulated, making it illegal.
It was, however, reported later that the company had been dormant since 2019.
Binance had put out a statement saying, “We are aware of the circular. However, the entity mentioned in the circular (Binance Nigeria Limited) is not affiliated with us. Therefore, we seek clarity from the Nigerian SEC and remain committed to working with them cooperatively on the next steps.
“Most importantly, we want to remind users that their assets on Binance are safe, accessible and secure. Our greatest priority will always be to deliver for our users.
“The company (Binance Nigeria Limited) is not affiliated with Binance. It was only registered for arbitrage reasons when we thought Binance might want to set up operations in Nigeria. But that did not happen, and as you can see, it (Binance Nigeria Limited) is inactive.”
Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, has recently faced a string of setbacks, announcing plans to leave the Netherlands, Cyprus, Canada and Australia and being charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC sued Binance and Mr Zhao earlier this month, alleging that the company artificially inflated its trading volumes, diverted customer funds, and misled investors about its market surveillance controls. Binance disputes the SEC charges.
The post CEO Zhao Calls Binance Nigeria Limited Scam Entity was originally published by Adedapo Adesanya on BusinessPost
