FINTRAC Imposes Significant Fine on Binance for Alleged Anti-Money Laundering Regulation Breaches
In a statement released today, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) detailed two main infractions: failure to register as a foreign money services business and failure to report significant transactions involving virtual currency.
According to FINTRAC, Binance allegedly failed to report transactions exceeding $10,000 on 5,902 occasions between June 2021 and July 2023.
Binance has been identified as a foreign money services business. Binance Holdings Limited was fined an administrative penalty of $6,002,000 on May 7, 2024, for two violations,” stated the regulator.
The penalty of $4.4 million, equivalent to 6 million CAD, results from compliance checks carried out in 2023.
FINTRAC serves as Canada’s financial intelligence unit, dedicated to thwarting money laundering and other financial crimes. Leveraging blockchain analytics, it pinpointed Binance’s failure to report virtual currency transactions as a critical oversight, essential for maintaining transparency within the financial system.
The recent events echo the regulatory pressure Binance encountered in the United States. In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice finalized a plea deal with the exchange, resulting in a $4 billion settlement for purported money laundering and sanctions breaches.
As part of the agreement, Binance’s founder and then-CEO, Changpeng Zhao, was obligated to resign and pay a $50 million fine. Subsequently, Zhao received a four-month prison term after admitting guilt to violating anti-money laundering regulations.
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