- Canada has imposed a fine against Binance – the world’s largest crypto exchange – for running afoul of the nation’s anti-money laundering rules last year.
- The federal government said Binance didn’t comply with rules and registrations related to operating as a foreign money services business (FMSB).
- The fine arrived just two weeks after Binance co-founder and ex-CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), was sentenced to four months in prison after failing to implement an adequate know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regime at his exchange.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has been fined by Canada for violating anti-money laundering rules, marking another legal trouble for the company.
Binance Fined $4.4 Million By Canada
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) imposed an administrative monetary penalty of $6,002,000 CAD on Binance Holdings Limited for committing 2 violations. These violations were found during a compliance activity in 2023. The regulator said Binance failed to report the receipt of large virtual currency transactions with a value exceeding $10,000 CAD. A total of 5,902 transactions of the sort weren’t reported properly by Binance between June 1 2021 and July 19, 2023.
Legal Troubles Continue for Binance
Binance’s legal trouble is far from over. The company is currently facing a massive lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for listing over a dozen alleged securities on its platform. The firm’s current CEO Richard Teng is also fighting with the Nigerian government to release one of Binance’s executives, who has been detained for over 70 days. In Canada specifically, Binance has already closed shop due to its inability to meet the nation’s regulatory high bar. A rival exchange, Coinbase, recently became the first foreign exchange to gain full license to operate in the country.
Conclusion
The latest fine imposed on Binance by Canada underscores the increasing regulatory scrutiny faced by crypto exchanges worldwide. As countries tighten their anti-money laundering rules and regulations, crypto exchanges like Binance will need to ensure they are in full compliance to avoid hefty fines and legal troubles.
