After Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty for violating the Bank Secrecy Act in the US and failing to implement anti-money-laundering programs, the SEC in the Philippines just issued an advisory against Binance.

Following the SEC advisory, Binance is carefully reassessing if it will continue its marketing efforts in the Philippines. “At Binance, we are committed to aligning with applicable local regulations. Under our new leadership, we have taken proactive steps to address the SEC’s concerns,”  Binance said in a statement to Bitpinas.

It’s a wild ride for Binance in the Philippines, as the SEC has been working aggressively to block the crypto trading platform in the Philippines. Following the advisory released, the SEC is already are already coordinating with the NTC to block access to Binance so that Filipinos will be safe from unregistered investment products.

The SEC explained that they issued an advisory against Binance because it does not have a license to operate in the Philippines. The SEC is giving a grace period of 3 months for investors to remove all of their investments in Binance. 

“Those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents, representatives, promoters, recruiters, influencers, endorsers, and enablers of Binance in selling or convincing people to invest in its platform within the Philippines, even through online means, may be held criminally liable under Section 28 of the SRC and be penalized up to P5 million or suffer imprisonment of up to 21 years, or both,” the SEC explains.

Aside from the Philippines, the US SEC also sued Binance for unauthorized operations and for offering unregistered offers and securities.