Binance was fined by Canada’s anti-money laundering agency for violating Canada’s anti-money laundering laws. The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange was investigated by the Financial Transactions Reporting and Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC) last year for alleged regulatory violations. The lawsuit against the company comes shortly after CEO Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay a $100 million (approximately Rs. XXX crore) fine after pleading guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws.
FINTRAC issued a statement on Thursday regarding punitive action against Binance. The post said the cryptocurrency exchange was fined for violating two Canadian rules identified during its compliance activities last year.
In the first offense, Binance, led by Richard Teng, was accused of failing to register as a Foreign Money Service Entity (FMSB) in Canada. “Binance Holdings Limited is considered an FMSB and was required to register with FINTRAC until September 25, 2023, when it will officially cease all operations in Canada. Until that date, Binance Holdings Limited had violated registration requirements,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Binance is facing action under anti-money laundering laws for failing to report 5,902 accounts for large virtual currency transactions between 2021 and 2023, as expected of Canadian cryptocurrency companies.
“Binance failed to report receipt of virtual currency amounts exceeding $10,000 (approximately Rs. 8.5 lakh) from customers in the course of a single transaction and failed to report required information in 5,902 separate instances during that period. “From June 1, 2021 to July 19, 2023,” FINTRAC said in a statement.
Binance has not yet publicly responded to the fines imposed by FINTRAC following its investigation into violations of Canadian anti-money laundering regulations.
The exchange is currently engaged in a legal battle with Nigerian regulators. Nigerian authorities summoned Binance authorities last month and asked them to establish a physical office in Nigeria.
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