Google and Apple have been ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines to remove cryptocurrency exchange Binance from their app stores.
The regulator stated in a news statement on Tuesday that it had written to Google and Apple, asking that apps under Binance’s management be taken down from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, respectively.
The public’s continuous access to Binance websites and applications, according to SEC Chairperson Emilio Aquino, “poses a threat to the security of the funds of investing Filipinos.”
The government said that Binance was acting as an unregistered broker and providing unregistered securities to Filipinos, in violation of the securities regulations of the nation.
When CNBC contacted Binance, Google, and Apple, they were not immediately available for comment.
In order to “prevent the further proliferation of its illegal activities in the country, and to protect the investing public from its detrimental effects on our economy,” Aquino stated that removing Binance from the Google and Apple app stores would be beneficial.
The National Telecommunications Commission of the Philippines has taken action in the past to restrict access to Binance websites within the nation.
As early as November of last year, the SEC allegedly sent a warning to the people of the Philippines not to use Binance and started looking into the possibility of banning the company’s services there.
Despite not having a license from the government, the SEC said that Binance has been aggressively advertising its services on social media to get money from Filipinos.
The watchdog stated that it is pushing Filipino investors in Binance to either cancel their positions right now or move their cryptocurrency holdings to exchanges or wallets that are registered in the country.
The incident adds to Binance’s long list of problems; in November 2023, the company replaced its CEO, Richard Teng, with the former head of the UAE regulator Abu Dhabi Global Markets, following a settlement with the US government that mandated the company pay a $4.3 billion fine for alleged money laundering violations.
After being accused of breaking the Bank Secrecy Act, former CEO of Binance Changpeng Zhao decided to resign. On April 30, Zhao is scheduled to be sentenced.
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have each filed separate lawsuits against Binance for allegedly managing client funds improperly and running an unlicensed, unlawful exchange within the country.
