Philippines issues warning to citizens about using Binance

The Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines has reminded citizens that Binance is not permitted to operate or offer its services in the country, even though it is trying to.

“Binance has been actively employing promotional campaigns on various social media platforms to attract and entice Filipinos to engage in investment and trading activities using its platforms,” the Philippines SEC wrote in an advisory Tuesday.

Binance does not hold the required licenses to advertise and serve customers in the Philippines, the agency added. The Philippines SEC advised citizens to exercise caution when engaging and investing with unregistered entities.

“Those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents, representatives, promoters, recruiters, influencers, endorsers and enablers of the Binance platform in selling or convincing people to invest in this platform within the Philippines even through online means may be held criminally liable,” the notice said.

The news comes days after the US Department of Treasury announced a settlement with the exchange for a historic $4.3 billion. In an unsealed indictment made public last week, the US government accused Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao of violating anti-money laundering laws, and sanctions laws.

“Defendants chose not to comply with US legal and regulatory requirements because it determined that doing so would limit its ability to attract and maintain US users,” the DOJ claimed.

Zhao, who pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $50 million in fines, stepped down from his role as CEO and resigned from the board of directors. The government has asked the court to keep Zhao in the US until his sentencing, which is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2024. He faces up to 10 years in prison.

Zhao’s legal team has opposed the motion. The judge has not yet ruled.

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