Binance

Binance Set to be Investigated by the Philippines Authorities

  • Binance has been accused of offering illegal services in the Philippines.

The Philippines-based think tank, Infrawatch PH, has stepped up its move to ban popular crypto exchange, Binance, in the country and has asked regulators to investigate alleged corrupt practices by the exchange.

The group reportedly submitted a 12-page complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines, urging it to take steps against the operations of Binance in the country. The think tank claims that Binance has been conducting business illegally in the Philippines for a number of years.

Furthermore, Infrawatch PH convenor, Terry Ridon, argued that Binance does not have a legitimate location in Manila and instead uses third-party companies that employ Filipinos for its technical and customer support services. Officials have previously accused Binance of not maintaining records with the appropriate authorities.

Ridon applauded the SEC’s efforts to criminalize fraudulent digital lending services and urged the commission to extend similar measures to Binance and other alleged unregistered and unregulated organizations in the country. Ridon went on to accuse Binance of providing various crypto services such as loans, futures contracts, peer-to-peer trading, spot trading, options, and margin trading despite being unrecognized by the authorities. He said,

We believe these products are in the nature of securities, which under SEC rules, may not be sold or offered for or distribution within the Philippines without a registration statement duly filed with and approved by the SEC.

A Binance representative confirmed that the popular exchange is collaborating with local regulators to get licenses to operate as an authorized electronic money issuer and virtual asset service provider in the Asian country. Binance said it plans to contribute to the growing use of Web3 and blockchain in the Philippines.

Binance had a difficult experience with authorities in 2021 as a number of regulators, starting in the UK and moving on to Hong Kong and South Africa, withdrew its license. The trading platform has strengthened contacts with regulators over the last 12 months and has obtained operating permits in crucial locations like France, Italy, and Dubai.

Binance was relieved when the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) threw off the proposal to ban the trading firm, citing a lack of regulatory clarity.

Binance Sues Bloomberg Subsidiary for Defamation

Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, reportedly filed a lawsuit against Modern Media Company Limited, which licenses Bloomberg’s content. The lawsuit contained claims of defamation that came from assertions made in a translated Chinese article that claimed that the Binance CEO was operating a Ponzi scheme.

Zhao is attempting to have the defamatory remarks banned from being printed by the journal in Hong Kong in the future. Zhao also wants a retraction in addition to damages, interest, and fees. The Binance boss took to Twitter to share a tweet accusing Bloomberg of deliberately sticking to false claims about him despite the positive comments from third parties. He wrote,

Bloomberg: hey, we will do a nice profile piece on you, invite you for photoshoots, etc. Then switches the story last minute. Ignore all positive comments they got from 3rd parties. Picked only old negatives. And still puts you on the cover.

This would not be the first time Binance and its CEO have sued a media organization. The firm previously sued Forbes Media LLC for defamation but later dropped the case.

Lawrence Woriji Verified

Lawrence has covered some exciting stories in his career as a journalist, he finds blockchain-related stories very intriguing. He believes Web3 will change the world and wants everyone to be a part of it.

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