The Philippines has ordered the removal of Binance from the Google and Apple app stores

Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao attended the Viva Technology Conference dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship at the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Center in Paris, France on June 16, 2022.

Benoit Tessier |

The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered Google and Apple to remove cryptocurrency exchange Binance from their app stores.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, the regulator said it has sent letters to Google and Apple requesting the removal of Binance-controlled apps from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, respectively.

US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Emilio Aquino said the Filipino public’s continued access to the Binance website and app “threatens the safety of Filipinos’ investment funds.”

The agency accused Binance of offering unregistered securities to Filipinos and acting as an unregistered broker, adding that it violated the country’s securities laws.

Binance, Google and Apple did not immediately comment when contacted by CNBC.

Aquino said that blocking Binance from the Google and Apple app stores “will help prevent the further spread of its illegal activities in the country and protect the investing public from its adverse effects on our economy.”

The National Telecommunications Commission of the Philippines has previously taken steps to block access to websites used by Binance in the country.

The SEC said it previously warned the Philippine public not to use Binance and began studying the possibility of blocking Binance from providing services in the Philippines as early as November last year.

The SEC said Binance has been actively promoting its services on social media to attract funds from Filipinos despite not having a license from the regulator.

The regulator said it is urging Filipinos who have invested in Binance to immediately close their positions or transfer their cryptocurrency holdings to their own crypto wallets or exchanges registered in the Philippines.

The action adds to a string of worries for Binance. Binance recently replaced its CEO with Richard Teng, the former head of Abu Dhabi Global Markets, the United Arab Emirates’ regulator, until November 2023, when the company must pay a $4.3 billion fine in a US government settlement. Suspected money laundering violations.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has agreed to resign after being accused of violating bank privacy laws. Zhao is expected to be sentenced on April 30.

Binance has been sued separately by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on suspicion of misappropriating customer assets and operating illegal, unregistered exchanges in the U.S.