- Binance was neither licensed nor registered in the Philippines
- Access to the exchange will be completely blocked in 3 months
The Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines has started to block local access to Binance, the biggest crypto exchange in the world. Former CEO Changpeng Zhao resigned after pleading guilty to violating US anti-money laundering legislation, Reuters reported.
Operating without a license
The SEC said Binance was not registered in the Philippines and was operating without the license and authority required to offer or sell securities of any kind.
According to the SEC’s statement, access will be completely blocked within three months of the regulator’s issuing the corresponding notice on Nov. 28. This window will give local users time to withdraw their funds from the crypto exchange.
The regulator also requested that Facebook and Google ban online advertisements of Binance in the Philippines. It warned entities selling products or trying to convince people to make investments in Binance that they face criminal liability.
The founder left the exchange
Former Binance chief Changpeng Zhao stepped down as CEO after admitting he overlooked anti-money laundering measures. He was released on a bond of $175 million after pleading guilty to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. No corporate defendant in a criminal matter had ever paid a penalty of this magnitude.
Binance reached a settlement with the US SEC, according to which the exchange had to pay $4.3 billion. Zhao also had to pay regulators a fine of $150 million.
Australia investigated the company
In July 2023, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) searched Binance Australia’s offices in an investigation into the crypto exchange’s now-terminated local derivatives activity.
The Netherlands fined Binance too
In June, Binance terminated operations in the Netherlands. It left the Dutch market because it wasn’t issued a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license. The Dutch government levied an administrative fine on the exchange of over $3 million for operating on its territory without a license and registration.
