Philippines orders Apple, Google to remove Binance app from stores

The Philippines Security and Exchange Commission has ordered the removal of the Binance app from Google and Apple stores for users in the Philippines. According to the country’s regulator, the order has been necessitated by security threats to investors and the need to protect the local economy.

This move comes shortly after the SEC and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) blocked access to Binance websites on March 25.

According to a release from the Philipines SEC today, the companies received separate letters on April 19 regarding removing the apps in the local marketplaces. The regulator said that it is working with the Big Tech companies on the removal of “applications operated by cryptocurrency giant Binance”.

“The SEC has identified [Binance] and concluded that the public’s continued access to these websites/apps poses a threat to the security of the funds of investing Filipinos”, the statement said.

According to Emilio B. Aquino, chairman of the SEC, Binance’s decision to sell or offer unregistered securities to the country’s locals and operate as an “unregistered broker” violates the country’s securities regulations. 

He said that by removing Binance applications from digital app marketplaces, these companies would help “prevent the further proliferation of its illegal activities in the country,” saying that otherwise, this could have “detrimental” effects on the local economy.

Read also: Binance secures operational licence in Dubai

Philippines SEC’s war on crypto exchanges

Binance is a major global cryptocurrency exchange accounting for 58% of the total spot trading volumes among centralized exchanges as of March 2024. Apart from its leading position as a major spot crypto trading venue, Binance also operates the biggest derivatives market among other exchanges like Bybit and OKX.

The move to block Binance in the Philippines follows a recent crackdown by the country’s SEC and the NTC which began in February. Both agencies have moved to block and ban unlicensed crypto trading platforms in the country using diverse means. But, at that time, Binance was unaffected.

Beginning in November 2023, the country’s SEC has been actively warning the public against using Binance for investing. The agency claimed that the crypto exchange has yet to secure a license to solicit investments from the public nor to operate an exchange to buy and sell securities.

On April 8, following the enforcement of its official ban on Binance, an SEC official reiterated that they had already provided users with three months, along with an extension, to facilitate the withdrawal of their funds from the exchange. After this period, the SEC said they “cannot endorse” any methods for retrieving funds.

Binance’s global trials

Binance has been involved in other regulatory-related debacles around the world.

The latest is a new class-action lawsuit that has been slammed on the crypto exchange in Canada, with plaintiffs alleging that the firm has violated local securities laws. Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice published a certification motion on April 19 for a class-action lawsuit against Binance alleging that it sold crypto derivative products to retail investors without registration.

The latest class action against Binance comes a few years after the crypto exchange announced in June 2021 plans to cease operations in Ontario after the OSC approached the firm with a warning.

The company and its two detained executives are presently undergoing a court trial over tax evasion charges in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria.

Two weeks ago, the Government of Nigeria arraigned Tigran Gambaryan at an Abuja court on four counts of charges that include tax evasion and money laundering. Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance was detained alongside Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British Kenyan, Binance’s regional manager for Africa.

Read more: Binance: court adjourns trial to May 17 as Kenyan police arrest fleeing executive

Gambaryan appeared in court in Abuja on Friday but did not take a plea. Anjarwalla fled the country last month. But Binance has not been charged. A federal high court sitting in Abuja, last Friday adjourned the tax evasion trial to May 17.

The charges include non-payment of value-added tax (VAT), company income tax, failure to file tax returns, and helping customers evade taxes through the Binance platform. The Federal Government also accused Binance of failure to register with FIRS for tax purposes and contravening existing tax regulations within the country.