Finance
Philippines orders Google and Apple to remove Binance from app stores
Zhao Changpeng, founder and CEO of Binance, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles Exhibition Center in Paris, France, on June 16, 2022.
Benoit Tessier | Reuters
The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered Google and Apple to remove cryptocurrency exchange Binance from their app stores.
In a press release on Tuesday, the regulator said it had sent letters Googling And Apple request the removal of Binance-operated applications from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, respectively.
SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino said the Philippine public’s continued access to Binance sites and apps “poses a threat to the security of the funds of investing Filipinos.”
The agency accused Binance of offering unregistered securities to Filipinos and acting as an unregistered broker, adding that this violates the country’s securities laws.
Binance, Google and Apple were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Aquino said blocking Binance from Google and Apple app stores would help “prevent the further spread of its illegal activities in the country and protect the investing public from its harmful impact on our economy.”
The Philippine National Telecommunications Commission previously took steps to block access to websites used by Binance in the country.
The SEC says it has previously warned the Philippine public against using Binance and began studying the possibility of blocking Binance’s services in the Philippines as early as November last year.
The SEC said Binance is actively promoting its services on social media to attract money from Filipinos despite not being licensed by the regulator.
The watchdog said it urges Filipinos with investments in Binance to immediately close their positions or transfer their crypto holdings to their own crypto wallets or exchanges registered in the Philippines.
The move adds to a litany of woes for Binance, which recently replaced its CEO with Richard Teng, the former head of UAE regulator Abu Dhabi Global Markets, in November 2023 after a US government settlement left the company ordered to pay a $4.3 billion fine for alleged money laundering violations.
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao was accused of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and agreed to resign. Zhao’s sentencing is expected to take place on April 30.
Binance has been separately sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for allegedly mishandling customer assets and operating an illegal, unregistered exchange in the US.
