Binance at Risk of Removal from App Stores in the Philippines
The Philippine legal authorities, known as the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), want to remove various applications linked with Binance from different app stores.
According to an announcement on Tuesday, Apple and Google were sent a request to remove their apps from their platforms on April 19. In the letter, Emilio Aquino, the Chair of the SEC, noted that they have evaluated Binance and found that allowing the public to access these apps/websites will compromise the financial security of Filipino investors.
Aquino emphasized that offering unregistered securities to Filipinos and acting as a broker without fulfilling the registration requirements are among the conducts that contravene Republic Act no. 8799, The Securities Regulation Code. He also added that the removal of the Binance applications would contribute to ceasing its illegal activities within the country.
Philippines SEC cautions users and imposes restrictions on Binance
The announcement came after the SEC decided to stop Binance in the Philippines in November by issuing a notice warning people from unauthorized investment offerings.
The regulatory alert stated that Binance’s operator is not licensed as a corporation in the Philippines. Besides, the practice of selling securities in the nation is not allowed. Likewise, Google and Meta are also being sought by the Securities and Exchange Commission to help reduce the Binance ads on social media that target even Philippine users. In this context, the commission sought help from the National Telecommunications Commission and the Department of Information and Communications Technology to ban Binance access within the country. Also, the SEC highlighted the intensified social media marketing of Binance, especially aimed at attracting Filipino investors and traders.
Binance legal problems
Binance has been involved in several litigations worldwide. In June, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against the company and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, for evading U.S. securities laws. However, Binance has denied these allegations vehemently and vowed to defend its platform.
The matters made their way worse when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also charged Binance and Zhao of Baltimore for violating the U.S. commodities regulations in March. Also, Binance is being sued in Canada in a representative action.
